Canadian publisher, Drawn and Quarterly extends their manga winning streak with this excellent hardcover collection of ten  short stories.  Susumu Katsumata is yet another of the manga maestros who are woefully under-recognized here in North America that D & Q has taken upon themselves to introduce to what they hope – and so far has been – an appreciative audience.  Katusmata's work is unique in that it falls into the category of gekiga – the grittier form of manga pioneered by Tatsumi and others – yet, unlike the vast majority of those practicing their craft within this form, Katsumata's tales are set in rural pre-modern Japan, giving his work some parallels with that master of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa.  Includes an interview with and biography of the author.