The translators
Walther Sell
Walther Sell was born in The Netherlands. He is a keyboardplayer/pianist and went on tour to Japan with the Dutch band Fruitcake. Experiencing the Japanese culture was a very positive and deep experience for him, and made him decide to move to Japan seven years later. After living in Japan for twelve years he decided to move to Shanghai, China, where he lived for 11 years after which he decided to return to Japan, where he is living now. He also spent 5 years in the U.S. He has a deep interest in spirituality and the different cultures of the world. Because of his love for the Japanese culture and his long experience of it, he is uniquely equipped to understand and translate this very Japanese work called `The Raccoon Dog of the Tower of Babel`.
Neri Abe
Neri Abe is the only child and daughter of Kobe Abe. She was involved in the publishing of “The Complete Works of Abe Kobe” (Shinchosha). It consists of 30 volumes. She published “The life of Kobo Abe” which includes her father’s memories and interviews with her father’s friends. She is a gynaecologist and lives in Kyoto. The Raccoon Dog of the Tower of Babel is her favorite story. She helped Walther with translating by explaining difficult passages and explaining her father`s way of thinking.