Who is The Keisei Prince?

It's not quite 6am on a Monday in Japan and you've just entered your local Keisei train station - the court of the Keisei Prince. You're on your way to work, and nothing seems to be going right. Your suit jacket is fitting poorly, you didn't have time for a proper breakfast, and you forgot to charge your Suica metro card. The automatic arms of the turnstile fold in, blocking your path and sending a flurry of disappointed salaryman glares your way, as they now have to back up and make their way around you.

Defeated and disheveled, you shuffle your way over to the ticket machines, hoping there's enough change in your pocket to get you to the office and back.

And then you see him.

Looking down from above, at you and at every other common man - is the Keisei Prince.

His crooked smile suggests an arrogance and air of superiority that he would never outwardly confess to. To do so would simply be, un-princely. His crown (stylized as a train conductor's hat) sits tilted ever so gently to one side, in a delicate yet deliberate act of carelessness, that only someone of royal privilege could get away with. He is not concerned with the dreariness of the morning rush hour. He pays no mind to Suica cards with insufficient balances.

As you make your way to the platform, and onto the crowded train below - the image of the upsettingly handsome young man refuses to leave your mind. The day that awaits you at work is uncertain, but one thing is for sure - it must be nice to be the Keisei Prince.

The customer is the princess.

That's the English translation of the slogan printed on each of his posters.

お客様は、お姫様
Okyaku sama wa, o hime sama

In other words, The Keisei Prince is not looking to steal your girl. He's made you into his girl.

You can hear him sign off using the very same catch phrase at the 0:55 mark in this YouTube video.

The Keisei Prince is a real person.

Did you catch the single English word "sexy", snuck into his message?

That's because Kento Nakajima is perhaps best known as being a member of Japanese idol group ( kind of like a boy band ) called Sexy Zone.

Idols are big business in Japan, and railways collaborating with artists are not uncommon. The Chiba Urban Monorail even recently ran a campaign featuring where they wrapped the entire train in images of "Hatsune Miku", a teenage anime girl that sings in a robot voice as a hologram in front of live audiences. Not entirely unlike Gorillaz, just a bit more - Japanese.

Sexy Zone was formed in 2011, and it seems Kento has been enjoying a streak of success ever since.

He's even branched out in acting, and earned an impressive instagram following of about a quarter of a million people.

Flipping through Kento's instagram reveals a decade of light-hearted, sexy fun.

Having put a name to the face, one finds themselves reassured in their original theory.

It sure is good to be The Keisei Prince.

But the Keisei Prince is not to be feared or resented. Sure, we can't all be The Keisei Prince, but we can all make an effort to be little more princely.

Let his face inspire us each morning as we go to work.

A reminder that we should all try to be a little kinder. A little more forgiving of the salarymen who drive their elbows into our sides and pretend it's not on purpose . And of course, we could all try to be - just a little bit sexier.