I have been left indebted to a number of people while writing this book. Most obviously all those whose funding brought it into existence. Every pledge was hugely appreciated for the step they took me closer to full funding, and I was lucky to receive some extremely generous support. But each also gave an emotional boost on the publishing journey which, for all its excitement, can have its lonely and bruising moments.
There was less obvious but equally important support from others. (Great Auntie) Hazel Keyser’s parting gift funded my time in Japan writing the book and changed my life in numerous ways. My parents and sister, far from disowning me, provided support for another hare-brained scheme. The Hiratas welcomed me into their family despite my unconventional circumstances. Mio unknowingly refined the book and took my life on a new and vastly improved path. And Kimi, who despite making no conscious effort to help the book or enhance my life, has made it a far better place all the same.
Some others provided very practical support. John Howell gave me some insight into the aftermath of losing a finger. Aiko Hiratsuka provided invaluable translation support – without which I would likely have a completely different horimono to the one I thought I was asking for. Josh Baldock shared some great anecdotes. Chris Armstrong gave very helpful feedback. And Richard Higson was a superstar creating my fundraising video.
I’m also very grateful to Scott Pack and DeAndra Lupu at Unbound for their corrections, improvements and general support. Scott in particular for taking the project on in the first place.
Thanks also to Emiko Hirata for the beautiful calligraphy created for the special edition print and the extra efforts of Cameron Hilker and the other Mokuhankan team members.
Some belated thanks for my last book to Lucy Ashken, Lee Poh Chu, Richard Wei, Amar Malhas and the photographer Michael Gladstone.
Unrelated but far more importantly, I must say the most heartfelt of thanks to Mr Giuliani and Mr Thompson’s teams at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and the wonderful nurses from Chameleon Ward. Words can’t express how grateful I am.
A number of wonderful writers and artists allowed me to use their work as part of the fundraising process. They are David Bull and the team at Mokuhankan, Sonia Leong, Joan Sinclair and Liza Dalby. Manami Okazaki not only provided support in this way but was pivotal to my irezumi education and put me in touch with Horitoku. The chance to work with such inspiring people made the hard work of crowdfunding a pleasure.
For those who like the woodblock prints and are interested in owning one, there are still a handful of artisans creating them. They use identical processes and pigments to the originals, meaning the new prints look exactly the same as the artists envisaged them. You can find them at:
Mokuhankan: mokuhankan.com
Takumi Woodblock Studio: takumihanga.com
The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints: adachi-hanga.com
Finally, I am in the dangerous position of knowing enough about aspects of Japanese culture to write about them, but not nearly enough to do so without error and possibly offence. I hope I have kept the latter in particular to a minimum as the book came from a love of the country that I hope will be passed on to others.