Sanaka Hiiragi was born in 1974 in the Kagawa Prefecture. She graduated from Kobe Women´s University, majored in literature and completed her studies at Himeji Dokkyo University. After living and working overseas as a Japanese language teacher for seven years, her debut novel, The Battle of Marriage Island, was nominated for the Konomys Award in 2012 and was chosen as The Hidden Jade´ by the editors in 2013. She is a big fan of cameras, photography and kimono art. The Lantern of Lost Memories is her first novel to be published in English.