The Hermit of Mount Min and Other Writings

A young poet escapes a jealous magistrate and takes refuge with a mountain hermit whose words and deeds never agree. The poet is Li Bai, and Kunieda Shirō follows him through drinking companions, imperial favor, rebellion, exile, and a final encounter beyond the ordinary world.

In Canton Scallions, a journalist and his friend visit a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo. A handsome waiter, a diamond ring, political rumors, and a death in a vegetable field become clues in a mystery that also leads through Asakusa’s entertainments.

Eight shorter writings complete the collection. Kunieda considers familiar ghosts, praises and challenges detective fiction, remembers the physician and author Kosakai Fuboku, and argues that popular literature should carry ideas about society rather than merely ingenious tricks.