During Yun Ling's conversations with Tatsuji, following her return to Yugiri years later, it is revealed that Aritomo was involved in a covert Japanese program during the war to hide looted treasures from occupied territories.

The rumours of this so-called "Golden Lily" program were widespread, and Magnus was killed trying to save his family from the Communist guerillas who came looking for the treasure.

5) Magnus, meanwhile, sustains memories from South Africa under British rule, and flies a Transvaal flag from the top of his house.

4) Tatsuji carries post-colonial guilt for the actions of his nation during the war, and tries to apologise to Yun Ling for the atrocities she has endured at his country's hands, but she replies that "[y]our apology is meaningless."(Ch.

The book opens with a quote from historian Richard Holmes, wherein he notes that while the ancient Greeks had a goddess for memory, Mnemosyne, there was none for forgetting.

1) One reviewer observed: "Yun Ling's independent spirit and her anger seep like ink-stains into the narrative, but its distilled essence is a quieter appraisal of the dichotomy of memory, its treacherous failures, its cruel conveniences, its fadeout and deliverance.

"[1] Meanwhile, Dominique Browning, writing for The Daily Telegraph, described Aritomo as "a fascinating character", and found the book "a strong, quiet novel.

"[6] Manasi Subramaniam of the Asian Review of Books found the ending "incredibly satisfying," and commented on the writing's "lush beauty and artistry of a Japanese garden.

"[5] The Guardian's Kapka Kassabova noted that "[i]t is impossible to resist the opening sentence" of the novel:[4] "On a mountain above the clouds once lived a man who had been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan."

[11][12] Taiwanese director Tom Lin Shu-yu directed the film and the script was written by Scottish screenwriter Richard Smith.

The cast includes Lee Sin-je, Hiroshi Abe, Sylvia Chang, David Oakes, Julian Sands and John Hannah.