The author's uncle, Mano Hideo, graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1929 and became a commissioned staff member at the Tokyo office of the Manchurian Imperial Concordia Association (Kyowa-kai) in 1936. Recognized by the Association's founder, Major General Ishiwara Kanji, and his close aide Asahara Kenzô, he became a staff member at the Manchukuo Concordia Association Central Headquarters in October 1938. In June 1939, he was transferred to Tonghua Prefecture as its Administrative Director, undertaking various duties. However, when his patron, Major General Ishiwara, was demoted, he had moved to the Ministry of Finance in Japan in December 1940. This book traces the formation and reality of Manchukuo by weaving in episodes from the Kyowa-kai era recorded in his uncle's black notebook and the history of the Mano family (the author’s family), within the broader context of Japanese history from the Meiji Restoration to 1945.