Writing fiction set in Japan poses a challenge to the author. For those living in Japan, descriptions of everyday things and actions may sometimes seem superfluous, and serve only to hold back the story, but for those outside Japan, the things we take for granted here may need some explanation (for example, when entering a Japanese house, one removes one’s shoes – a habit that becomes automatic after a while, but may need explanation, or at least a mention, for non-Japan dwellers).
Kenneth Sharpe’s world is not that of the mysterious East, where esoteric Oriental wisdom is imparted to crass Westerners through subtle mystic practices – his Japan is centred on modern Tokyo – a world of foreigners who have made their home in an alien and sometimes bewildering society, often in definitely non-exotic surroundings, scratching a living from this vibrant city. With all the talk of depression and business downturns, Tokyo continues to be an exciting source of opportunities and adventure, even after my 22 years of life here, and hence I’m really happy to present my view of it. Though it doesn’t romanticise the city or the country, it is not self-consciously a “mean streets” locale – Sharpe’s Tokyo is pretty similar to mine, and if the streets seem mean to him at times, but not all the time, they do to me, too.
Though some place names and events exist in real life, they exist only to give authenticity to the story and the characters in this book, who are fictional and exist only in my imagination.
-o-
As well as thanks to my wife Yoshiko, who has provided loving support, I would like to express my gratitude to those people with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working and meeting in my 22 years in Japan. Special thanks are due to Mark Thomas, John Talbot, Eric Bossieux, as well as Cindy Mullins of 4M Associates, for constant encouragement and support (and helpful criticism), and Mark Schreiber and Maclean Storer for their constructive hole-poking in a couple of early drafts. Holly Ueda and Simon Varnam provided their proofreading skills, and performed acts of heroic criticism, over and above the call of duty, to help make this a better book. Even if I didn’t accept all their suggestions, they forced me to look at what I’d written with new eyes.
Oh, and I, like Kenneth Sharpe, am British. This book is largely written in British English (some Americanisms may have slipped in, though – living in a polyglot community tends to do that to your writing style).
Hugh Ashton
Kamakura, June 2010