Writer-translator-artist Alfred Birnbaum first came to Tokyo in 1960 and has lived in Japan for more than forty years. His translations focus on Japanese art, architecture and design as well as contemporary literature, most notably Haruki Murakami (Sasakawa Foundation Translation Award 2001), Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, Miyabe Miyuki, Ikezawa Natsuki and Toshihiko Yahagi. His co-translation of the Burmese novel Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi Inwa was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Asia Literary Prize. His activities in art include scripting and performing with the Kyoto-based media art group Dumb Type. He is currently writing an occult academic satire based on The Tale of Genji and creating photographic scrolls that combine digital collage with overpainting and calligraphy. [Fiction]