This new historical novel is set in ancient Kyoto, Japan, and Hangzhou, China, a city described by Marco Polo as "the greatest in the world." Join Lady Kaishi, a noblewoman of the Heian Court, as she tries to find her...

mother's grave site, somewhere across the East China Sea.

Her search takes her from the ancient city of Kyoto, to the Temple of the Purple Clouds, on the shores of the West Lake in China. The cover shows the symbol of the yin and yang and a Heian kimono, as this novel explores the dramatic conflict between the masculine and feminine, played out among the magnificent setting of the Heian world. Lady Kaishi is both observer and participant in the romantic encounters of the Heian nobility, struggling to maintain her identity, transcending gender and blood in a display as passionate and brilliant as the silver waves glittering on her layered kimono.

About the Author:Avia Belle Moon is the pen name of a freelance writer who has lived in Kanazawa for the last ten years. She has written short stories and articles on Japanese arts and culture for various newspapers and magazines in Tokyo and Osaka, including The Japan Times and Kansai Time Out.

Available: Now at Utsunomiya in Hirosaka and the "hyakubangai" in Kanazawa station.