A lost prince of Japan is being given new life.
The historical Takaoka was a royal who lived during the Heian Period (794-1185). Following a failed power play by his father, then-retired Emperor Heizei, against the new emperor, Saga, Takaoka’s family lost its influence and he became a Buddhist monk. Decades later, the prince went to study in China, and from there set out for India, but he went missing along the way, presumed dead somewhere near present-day Singapore.
Takaoka’s Travels, by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. Translated by David Boyd. 178 pages, MONKEY, Fiction.