If I had written this biography on the basis of publicly available material, there would be two sides of this story, not to mention the foreword, afterword, and the acknowledgments.
Everyone knows that Hanako Arasaka is a very private individual. Everyone has heard about the tragic death of the last reporter who attempted to pen her life's story. Ten shots to the back. Suicide, according to the police.
That's why when my publisher asked me to write this book, I had to politely decline. Then when I saw the advance they were offering me, I started to reconsider. And finally, when I discovered that Arasaka's PR department had given its stamp of approval to interview numerous members of Hanako's entourage, I was on the next flight to Tokyo.
Soon enough, however, I lost my original enthusiasm. The people Arasaka sent me to be interviewed repeated the same answers to all questions – clearly memorized by heart. After a month's worth of research all I had was:
Hanako Arasaka is the daughter of Saburo Arasaka from his third wife, Michiko. She was born in 1999 in Tokyo and has only left the city five times in her life. Living a cloistered lifestyle, she never fulfilled any important role in the family business. She is very close to Yorinobu Arasaka, the black sheep in the family.
I was ready to give up when in the archives of a local T.V. station I found a recording of the opening of an Arasaka branch in Fukuoka, graced by the presence of none other than Hanako herself. She played the piano. Debussy's "Reverie." Why that piece? Why play a dreamy, introspective song while surrounded by stoic Japanese businessmen? Her golden fingers caressed the keys. I was mesmerized. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I listened. That's when I knew I had to finish this book. I had to meet this enigmatic woman and find out who Hanako Arasaka really was.
