About the Author

Senji Kuroi is the penname of Shunjiro Osabe, a novelist from Tokyo who graduated in economics from Tokyo University. He worked as a "salaryman" while writing novels and was an Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize candidate in 1968. The following year he published Jikan (Time) and in 2001 won the Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Prize for his novel Life in the Cul-de-Sac, which is available in English translation. He also has won the Yomiuri Prize and the Noma Prize and currently serves as president of the Japan Writer's Association as well as a member of the selection committee for the Akutagawa Prize. Senji Kuroi is the penname of Shunjiro Osabe, a novelist from Tokyo who graduated in economics from Tokyo University. He worked as a "salaryman" while writing novels and was an Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize candidate in 1968. The following year he published Jikan (Time) and in 2001 won the Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Prize for his novel Life in the Cul-de-Sac, which is available in English translation. He also has won the Yomiuri Prize and the Noma Prize and currently serves as president of the Japan Writer's Association as well as a member of the selection committee for the Akutagawa Prize.