"Futaro Yamada is the pen name of Seiya Yamada. He was born in 1922 in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and graduated from the faculty of medicine at Tokyo University. He made his authorial debut in 1947 with the short story ""The Incident at the Dharma Pass"" and went on to write over a hundred novels and short stories. Known for his versatility, he is best loved in Japan for his series of ninja novels and historical crime novels. Many of his works have been adapted for film, television, manga and anime. He died in 2001."
An audacious puzzle mystery, woven into an exquisitely crafted historical tale. One of the most original works in the history of Japanese mystery writing, which could never have been created by anyone other than Futaro Yamada -- Haruo Yuki, author of The Ark