What provoked the sudden re-discovery? A film called "Le Hérisson" (The Hedgehog). Great film, based on a great book, but the important point is that it describes a woman with a hidden room full of classic books, with one in plain sight: In praise of shadows, by J. Tanizaki. Was my book then considered a classic?
I had bought it because I liked the subject and the fact that it describes the Japanese approach to it. Excited to have such a find among my books without intention, I read it during the Classics Club's first readathon on the 5th January 2013.
