【Deepest Fantasy Literature Short Story Writer】Schwob's First Paperback Edition / Original Masterpiece Collection 'The King in the Golden Mask' (Kawade Bunko) Including 5 New Translations Already in its 3rd Reprint! Thanks for the Big Hit, Ken Nishizaki's New Translation of 'The Great Fire on Earth' Full Text Now Available!

Kawade Shobo Shinsha Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yu Onodera) announces that Marcel Schwob's "The King in the Golden Mask" (Kawade Bunko, released March 6, 2026, tax-included price 1,430 yen) has been decided for its 3rd reprint, available on April 6.

●Marcel Schwob's 'The King in the Golden Mask' (Kawade Bunko) Table of Contents

●Ken Nishizaki's New Translation of "The Great Fire on Earth" Full Text Now Available!

A burning apocalyptic world in the distant future

As faith dies out, vice spreads, and storms and meteorites rain down

A boy and a girl begin their escape—

Marcel Schwob, a master of fantasy literature "known to those who know."

His first original paperback masterpiece collection, "The King in the Golden Mask" (Kawade Bunko), has received a great response since its release in March 2026, and a 3rd reprint has already been decided. He profoundly influenced prominent writers such as Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, Edogawa Ranpo, Yumiko Kurahashi, Borges, and Bolaño, yet he was a "short story writer at the deepest core of fantasy literature" whose works had limited opportunities to be widely read until now.

The success of Kawade Bunko's edition has been enthusiastically welcomed by long-time fans, discovered by new readers, and is now seeing a significant expansion.

"The King in the Golden Mask" includes all 22 stories, with 5 new translations.

It presents a hard, meticulous fantasy world with an unsettling atmosphere, created through an astonishing erudition in history, mythology, art, and philosophy from all times and places. In an era where bizarre and fantasy literature is gaining significant attention, this is a must-read.

Please pay attention to Marcel Schwob's "The King in the Golden Mask," which invites readers into deep contemplation.

●Author Marcel Schwob

Born in France in 1867. A "most outstanding short story writer of the Symbolist generation" who profoundly influenced later writers such as Borges, Edogawa Ranpo, and Tatsuhiko Shibusawa with his hard and meticulous fantastic style based on extensive knowledge of history, mythology, and art. Died in 1905.

・Translators

Hajime Ohama

French literature scholar. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1925. Author of "Isis Fantasy," and translator of Schwob's "Imaginary Lives," "The Children's Crusade," "The Book of Monelle," "The King in the Golden Mask," and Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's "Cruel Tales," among others. Died in 2012.

Chimako Tada

Poet, essayist, and translator. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1930. Poetry collections include "The Country with a Long River," essays include "Theoria of the Mirror," and translations include Schwob's "The Children's Crusade" and Yourcenar's "Memoirs of Hadrian," among others. Died in 2003.

Soichiro Taruno

Translator. Born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1958. Translations include the three-volume "Austrian Bizarre Novel Collection," Meyrink's "Walpurgisnacht," Perutz's "Turlupin," and Borges/Ferrari's "The Library of Babel," among others.

Ken Nishizaki

Writer and translator. Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1955. Author of "Until Unknown Birds Arrive" and "Book Ghosts," editor and translator of Coppard's "The Post Office and the Serpent," editor of the "Twelve Months of Books" series, and editor of "Planet and Whistle Books" and "Bungei Delivery," among others.

●Bibliographic Information