Ihara Saikaku (1641-1693) has been called "the greatest popular Japanese novelist of the 17th century." He was a successful merchant in the up-and-coming city of Osaka. The tragedy of losing his wife and daughter moved him to abandon his business and become an itinerant Buddhist monk who composed haiku verses and erotic stories. Saikaku founded the ukiyo-zoshi (floating world) genre, which flourished between the 1680s and the 1770s.

Chris Drake is a translator, writer, and expert on Ihara Saikaku's works. He has a PhD in Japanese Literature from Harvard University and was formerly a professor at Atomi University in Niiza, Japan. He has published many essays and books on Saikaku and other Japanese writers.