Evgeny Kruchina, director of the Russia-Japan Society, studied physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Japanese language at the Moscow State University. He wrote several books on traditional culture, including The Symphony of Taste. He has translated historical fiction/non-fiction: Saigo no Shogun by Ryotaro Shiba, Amayogatari by Eiichi Shibusawa, and Tanzan kaiso by Tanzan Ishibashi. For JLPP he translated Roran by Yasushi Inoue and Takayama Ukon by Otohiko Kaga.