The Ambassador and His Wife, Volumes 1 & 2 Minae Mizumura Price: ¥2,200 each Why did the ambassador and his wife disappear from Karuizawa? A long-awaited new novel, 12 years in the making. In 2020, as the world was gripped by a pandemic, Kevin, a translator, gazed from his small mountain villa in Oiwake, Karuizawa, at the deserted house next door. That Japanese-style house, built by a Kyoto carpenter, was the home of a former diplomat and his wife, who were close neighbors. However, the couple had vanished the previous year without a trace. Takako, the elegant and refined wife, danced Noh and gracefully wore kimonos. Kevin decides to write down in Japanese the extraordinary life she shared with her husband. A masterpiece novel overflowing with poignant longing for the lost "Japan." #MinaeMizumura #Mizumura_Minae #Books #JapaneseLiterature/Novels/Stories