Ultimately, this narrative, which is also exposed bit by bit, resolves itself into a variation of the classic EC Comics story The MasterRace, the tale of a survivor who stalks a Nazi in the New York subway.
Gates says Yamaguchi started out as an experiment in the politics of art and race: What would happen to his pots and bowls, which weren't selling so well, if he told people they were made by the mixed-race son of a Japanese master potter who had taught his methods to the neighbors of his black Mississippi bride?
He even handed Queiroz the tactical credit for the 2-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford that kept the title race alive, with his suggestion of Phil Neville in a holding role a master-stroke.