Author’s acknowledgments

I would especially like to thank Mr. Tyran Grillo for his trouble in translating my work, a Western crime fiction based on a Chinese classic, written in Japanese; Mr. Robert Kahn for providing the happy opportunity for me to meet the translator; the late Mr. Francis King for encouraging me to approach the readers of the English-speaking world; and, last but not least, Mr. James Harper for perusing the translation and my original with critical insight.

Ashibe Taku

November 2011