Book V

Chapter XXXIX: Floating a leaf, a mighty warrior sends off two friends;

Raising a cloud, a divine spirit abducts a child

Chapter XL: Abusing Gakuzō, a nefarious cabal flaunts their venom;

Shooting at rabble, heroes disrupt a court of law

This year, as seldom happens, the Author completed his manuscript early. However, it languished at the hands of the illustrator and the copyist, so that the work of block carving has not yet been finished for the Book listed above. We dreaded missing our time, and so we took the first IV Books as one installment, which we issue for sale hereby. The Vth Book, being particularly lengthy, we shall split into two Books and issue, without delay, in the early spring of this coming Year of the Serpent. From the start this story-book was conceived of as being a rather long one, and it was decided that it should be issued in installments of V Books each: to split an installment into two issuances is something of which the Author disapproves, but in all sincerity, it could not be helped. We entreat our supportive readers everywhere not to reproach us for an insufficient number of Books in this installment, but to await the future Books that will appear, and that we trust will be opened, with the flowers in the spring.