
By Rebecca Copeland
The Kimono Tattoo
“Silk unravels. A tattoo is forever. Layer by layer the truth is revealed.”
“I jostled her shoulder and noticed when I did that her skin was cold to the touch….her entire torso was covered in tattoos from her collar bone to the midline of her thighs. All were of kimono motifs—fans, incense burners, peonies, and scrolls.” This ghastly scene was the last thing Ruth Bennett expected to encounter when she agreed to translate a novel by a long-forgotten Japanese writer. Returning to her childhood home in Kyoto had promised safety, solitude, and diversion from the wounds she encountered in the U.S. But Ruth soon finds the story line in the novel leaking into her everyday life. Fictional characters turn out to be real, and the past catches up with the present in an increasingly threatening way.
The Kimono Tattoo takes readers on a journey into Kyoto’s intricate world of kimono design. As Ruth struggles to unravel the cryptic message hidden in the kimono tattoo, she is forced to confront a vicious killer along with her own painful family secrets.
Praise for The Kimono Tattoo
About the Author
Rebecca Copeland
Rebecca Copeland is a writer of fiction and literary criticism and a translator of Japanese literature. Her stories travel between Japan and the American South and touch on questions of identity, belonging, and self-discovery. The Kimono Tattoo, her debut work, takes readers on a journey into Kyoto’s intricate world of kimono design, and into a mystery that interweaves family dynamics, loss, and reconciliation.
Credit: Sean Garcia of Washington University in St. Louis
Rebecca's Work
Creative Writing
My work travels between Japan and the Blue Ridge Mountains, tracing the lines of memory, identity, and self-discovery.
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Academic Writing
My scholarly works are informed by questions of gender and genre and focus almost exclusively on modern Japanese women writers.
Translations
We all translate. It is part of everyday communication. For me, part of that communication is translating from Japanese to English.
“Rebecca Copeland has done more to advance the study of Japanese women writers in English than any other scholar working today. Her translations, scholarship, and lectures have defined the field.”
— Jan Bardsley, Professor Emerita
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
My Writing Blog
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Edited Out, Part Five: Going to the Dogs
What do kimonos and dogs have in common? Not much. Unless you’re reading The Kimono Tattoo. Midway through the novel, protagonist Ruth discovers that the Tosa dog has an intricate and unfortunate connection to the mystery she is trying to solve, namely, what happened...
Takeaway: Gripping Literary Thriller
Indie authors have to hustle to get their books reviewed. Just before my publisher released The Kimono Tattoo, she and I scrambled to find journals willing to carry a review. I was disappointed time and again when journals turned us down. It’s discouraging really. My...
Curried Memories
Yesterday was a day for curry rice. By “curry rice,” of course, I mean “karee raisu,” the delicious Japanese concoction made from curry bullion paste. The paste blends with the ingredients of your choice to create a thick aromatic stew at once sweet and savory. I’ve...
“Famous for her academic studies of the female deity Izanami, the mountain yamamba, Meiji women writers, and more, Copeland’s award-winning translations of Japanese literature are also evidence of agility with the craft of fiction writing. No other scholar of Japan is better suited to turning her hand to a mystery novel set in Kyoto.”