★ A work by Akiko Shirakawa, winner of the Japanese Novel Award and the popular author of the “The Crow in the Imperial Harem” series.
★ Set in postwar Japan in 1955, this novel follows twin sisters: one, a former orphan who overnight becomes a highborn young lady, and the other, her elder sister. Together, they unravel their family’s secrets within an antique-filled mansion.
★ The “inauspicious” art objects collected by generations of the family’s heads begin to attract mysterious visitors. Blending antique mysteries with deep familial bonds, this mystery tale draws you into the witch-like legends surrounding the Setsuka Manor.
★ One is a pampered heiress, the other a lonely orphan. The two sisters’ vastly different paths gradually converge as they piece together the clues to an ancient-artwork-related case.

One is a pampered young lady, the other a lonely orphan who grew up in isolation. Set in postwar Gotemba, the antique-themed mystery of twin sisters is about to begin.

In 1955, sixteen-year-old Sayuri, who has been living in a Tokyo orphanage, finds herself in a state of utter bewilderment: she is told that she was once the kidnapped daughter of the former aristocratic Yukimiya family. Soon after, Sayuri travels to Gotemba to join her twin sister, Shizuka, who is now the head of the Yukimiya clan. Suddenly transformed from an orphan into a young lady of high society, Sayuri feels both confused by her new life and gradually draws closer to Shizuka. Yet the Yukimiya household frequently receives uninvited visitors, and it soon becomes clear that their visits may be linked to the family’s treasured collection of antiques passed down through generations…?

Shirakawa Konoko
Born in Mie Prefecture, Japan. She graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Doshisha University. After being selected for Cobalt magazine’s Short Story Newcomer Award, she won the 2012 Roman Grand Prize (now known as the Novel Grand Prize).
She is the author of numerous popular series, including “Kamogamo Antique,” “Starting with a Contract Marriage—The Fake Couple of the Tsubaki Mansion,” “The Court of Blackbirds,” “The Imperial Consort Shuka: Volumes One and Two,” “Daughter of the Sea God,” “The Exorcism Records of the Hanabishi Couple,” “Kyoto Benzo Strange Tales,” and “Flowers in Black Robes.”