Another of the Sugiwara Akitada mystery novels is available for free! It may not be free for long, so better grab it while it is. (And no, I am not the author of these books, nor am I associated with her. I just like free ebooks and the Heian era.)
Summary from Amazon: Sugawara Akitada, senior secretary in the Ministry of Justice, is having a bad couple of days. A series of fires is devastating the capital city of Heian-Kyo. On the personal and professional front, some nasty, behind-the-scenes political machinations cause Akitada to be demoted to junior secretary, and an incompetent crawler to be installed in his place. Then, after Akitada goes to the home of the man who orchestrated his demotion, the man is murdered, and, wouldn’t you know it, Akitada is accused of the crime. He knows he has the ability to prove his innocence, but he’s wading into very dangerous waters, and there’s a good chance he might not emerged unscathed.
1 year ago 2 notes
A mystery novel set in the Heian era, Rashomon Gate by I.J. Parker, is currently free on Amazon. It’s the first book in the Sugiwara Akitada mystery series.
Summary: Sugiwara Akitada, an earnest young nobleman with a reputation for solving crimes, is approached by his former professor and mentor, who is concerned about possible blackmail at Imperial University. Akitada agrees to take a temporary teaching position in order to find the rotten apple among the faculty, but he soon finds himself investigating not only the blackmail but also the murder of a young woman, the subsequent murder of a professor, and the mysterious death of a prince whose grandson is one of Akitada’s students. He is also wondering why the love of his life has inexplicably refused his offer of marriage.
1 year ago 4 notes
mmmmmo:
No 134 Letters are Commonplace
Letters are commonplace enough, yet what splendid things they are! When someone is in a distant province and one is worried about him, and then a letter suddenly arrives, one feels as though one were seeing him face to face. Again, it is a great comfort to have expressed one’s feelings in a letter even though one knows it cannot yet have arrived. If letters did not exist, what dark depressions would come over one! When one has been worrying about something and wants to tell a certain person about it, what a relief it is to put it all down in a letter! Still greater is one’s joy when a reply arrives. At that moment a letter really seems like an elixir of life.
(Source: whenyourise)
2 years ago 9 notes
pictures of the actors for the upcoming Tale of Genji movie, as announced in the last post
editor’s note: Hmm…actually, I find the actor for Abe no Seimei more handsome than the one for Genji! o_o (Please don’t kill me, Ikuta Toma fans…)
2 years ago 2 notes
japanentertainment:
As reported, Ikuta Toma will star in upcoming movie “Genji Monogatari (The Tales of Genji)” as Hikaru Genji, set for release sometime in 2011. “Genji Monogatari” is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to Murasaki Shikibu from the early eleventh century.
Unlike the many “Genji Monogatari” movies and dramas made in the past, this new “Genji Monogatari” will be a little different in that it features actual historical figures, such as Murasaki Shikibu, Fujiwara no Michinaga, and Abe no Seimei.
The cast members for these historical figures have been revealed recently: Nakatani Miki as Murasaki Shikibu, Higashiyama Noriyuki as Fujiwara no Michinaga, and Kubozuka Yosuke as Abe no Seimei. Interestingly enough, Higashiyama Noriyuki is a senior of Toma’s in Johnny’s Entertainment, and he has also played the role of Hikaru Genji approximately 20 years ago.
2 years ago 5 notes
