About the Book
With this striking and highly engaging collection of stories, author Hans Brinckmann takes us into the heart of his adopted country, Japan. The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills brings authenticity and a unique vision to a landscape of intrigue, culture and conflict.
Highlighting the intriguing surroundings and cultural details, each story draws the reader into an extraordinary experience. The offerings include A Leap into the Light, the compelling tale of a Dutch businessman’s secretive life with the young daughter of his late Japanese mistress; Kyoto Bus Stop, about the chance encounter between a visitor from Europe and a mysterious young French woman in Kyoto; Pets in Marriage, which chronicles a Japanese married couple and their respective preference for cats and dogs, which comes to a head at the foot of Mt. Fuji; Twice upon a Plum Tree, an exploration of a Dutch diplomat’s ambivalence about a Japanese woman he once loved; and the title story, The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills, about a Chicago-based lawyer who moves his family to Japan to find the truth of his origins once and for all.
Follow the fascinating characters, and their captivating stories, in The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills.
About the Author
Hans Brinckmann was born in The Hague in 1932. In the bleakness of post-war Holland, he had to postpone his plan to become a writer. He joined an international bank and within a year, at age eighteen, he was posted in Japan, where he stayed twenty-four years. He subsequently lived in London, Curacao, Amsterdam, New York and Sydney before returning to live once again in Tokyo in 2003. He quit banking early to turn to writing.
In 1986, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands made Mr. Brinckmann an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, “in recognition of his cultural achievements in Japan and the United States.” His writings include The Magatama Doodle (a Japan memoir, 2005); Noon Elusive (fiction, 2006); Showa Japan (history, 2008); and The Undying Day (poetry, 2011). For details of Mr. Brinckmann’s publications and activities, visit www.habri.jp.