Ueda Akinari, born in Osaka in 1734, is the author of the stories of mystery and suspense most accomplished classical Japanese literature. Throughout his life he was a merchant, poet, philologist and scholar of classical Japanese, esthete and doctor. His early works are among the best examples of the genre ukiyo-zoshi (tales of the floating world). With Tales of Moonlight and Rain created the forerunner of the yomi-hon or "reading books," then went on to become the mainstream of Japanese novels. He died in 1809 in Kyoto.