Author’s Note

  

The Ninja’s Illusion is a work of fiction, but the historical backdrop is real. The incredible history of the Indian Rope Trick is true as I describe it, as is the mythology of the kitsune, the types of historical treasures Jaya uncovers, and the heartbreaking history of Japan’s isolationist period.

 

Kyoto is depicted as I experienced it when I visited Japan in 2016. I took some liberties with specific locations, and therefore they remain nameless in the pages of this book. But if you’d like to visit a Buddhist temple very similar to the one described here, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji in the Arashiyama neighborhood is worth visiting. It’s off the beaten path and one of the less visited temples of Kyoto, but it was a favorite of mine.

 

The characters both past and present are fictional, with the exception of real-life historian Peter Lamont, who sportingly agreed to be featured in a cameo after I read his highly entertaining nonfiction book, The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick.

 

More details, plus recommended reading, can be found on my website: www.gigipandian.com.