Kyokutei Bakin

Takizawa Bakin (曲亭 馬琴), a.k.a. Kyokutei Bakin (曲亭 馬琴, 4 July 1767 – 1 December 1848), was a Japanese novelist of the Edo period. He was known as a gesaku author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden (The Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansō) and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (Strange Tales of the Crescent Moon). Both are outstanding examples of nineteenth-century yomihon, or "books for reading" (as opposed to kusazōshi, or "picture books"). Bakin published more than 200 works in his life, the longest of which was the Nansō Satomi Hakkenden consisting of 106 books.