Set in 12th-century Japan, it is narrated by Harueme, a dying unmarried princess in the Court of Emperor Sutoku, who gives her life story constrained as it has been by the privileges of her position. Interleaved with her own life account is a nested story drawing on elements of Japanese mythology she has written as escapism to her own frustrations. This is about the cat Kagaya-hime whose Fudoki of the title is taken to be the common narrative of cat clans which defines their shared reality. When Kagaya-hime's home, relatives and hence Fudoki are destroyed by a fire, she sets out on a journey into the unknown. She is transformed into a woman by gods to allow her to complete the journey, yet maintains cat-like behaviours and attitudes throughout. Finally reaching the end of Japan, she transforms back and becomes "The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles" to start a Fudoki of her own.
This book was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and was declared one of the best science fiction/fantasy novels of 2003 by Publishers Weekly.
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Urashima Tarō is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale, who in a typical modern version is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There he is entertained by the princess Otohime as a reward. He spends what he believes to be several days with the princess, but when he returns to his home village, he discovers he has been gone for at least 100 years. When he opens the forbidden jewelled box (tamatebako), given to him by Otohime on his departure, he turns into an old man.
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shape-shifting is in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existent literature and epic poems such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad. The concept remains a common literary device in modern fantasy, children's literature and popular culture.
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a monogatari containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the monogatari form.
Fear of Flying is a 1973 novel by Erica Jong. It became controversial for its portrayal of female sexuality, and figured in the development of second-wave feminism.
The Twelve Kingdoms is a series of fantasy novels written by Japanese author Fuyumi Ono and illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. The first entry in the series called The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow was published by Kodansha in Japan in 1992; the last Kodansha volume was released in 2001. In 2012 the series was resumed under the Shinchō Bunko line from Shinchosha. Shinchosha has also begun reprinting the older volumes with new cover and interior art from Akihiro Yamada. The first new publication of the series in six years was released in 2019.
Kafka on the Shore is a 2002 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Its 2005 English translation was among "The 10 Best Books of 2005" from The New York Times and received the World Fantasy Award for 2006. The book tells the stories of the young Kafka Tamura, a bookish 15-year-old boy who runs away from his Oedipal curse, and Satoru Nakata, an old, disabled man with the uncanny ability to talk to cats. The book incorporates themes of music as a communicative conduit, metaphysics, dreams, fate, the subconscious.
Night on the Galactic Railroad, sometimes translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars or Fantasy Railroad in the Stars, is a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published by Bunpodō (文圃堂) in 1934 as part of Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa Vol. 3 (『宮沢賢治全集』第三巻). Four versions are known to be in existence, with the last one being the most famous among Japanese readers.
Konohanasakuya-hime is the goddess of Mount Fuji and all volcanoes in Japanese mythology; she is also the blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life. She is often considered an avatar of Japanese life, especially since her symbol is the sakura.
Sue Monk Kidd is an American writer from Sylvester, Georgia best known for her novels The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings.
Howl's Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. The film was produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. The Japanese voice cast featured Chieko Baisho and Takuya Kimura, while the English dub version starred Jean Simmons, Emily Mortimer, Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Josh Hutcherson and Billy Crystal. The film is set in a fictional kingdom where both magic and early twentieth-century technology are prevalent, against the backdrop of a war with another kingdom. It tells the story of Sophie, a young milliner who is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
Motoko Arai is a Japanese science fiction and fantasy writer. Her writing is characterized by her use of a light conversational tone geared towards a young adult audience. She has published three series of novels and several short stories. Her works, Green Requiem and Neptune, received the Seiun Award for short story in 1981 and 1982.
Chūjō-hime was by most accounts a daughter of the court noble Fujiwara no Toyonari who escaped persecution at the hands of her stepmother by becoming a nun at the Taima-dera in Nara. There she took on the name Zenshin-ni or the Dharma name Honyo (法如). She has become a folk heroine, the subject of numerous Japanese folktales which celebrate her filial piety. She is sometimes called the Japanese Cinderella.
Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid is a Japanese anime film based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale, released in 1975 by Toei Animation. Unlike the Disney adaptation released 14 years later, this film is closer to Andersen's story, notably in its preservation of the original and tragic ending. The two main protagonists are the youngest daughter of the royal family, Marina, and her best friend Fritz, an Atlantic dolphin calf. In Japan, this film was shown in the Toei Manga Matsuri in 1975.
Toyouke-Ōmikami is the goddess of agriculture and industry in the Shinto religion. Originally enshrined in the Tanba region of Japan, she was called to reside at Gekū, Ise Shrine, about 1,500 years ago at the age of Emperor Yūryaku to offer sacred food to Amaterasu Ōmikami, the Sun Goddess.
Corpse Princess is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiichi Akahito. Premiering in Monthly Shōnen Gangan on April 12, 2005, the series centers on the "Corpse Princess" Makina Hoshimura, an undead girl who is hunting down 108 undead corpses in order to gain entry into heaven with the help of a secret society of anti-corpse Buddhist monks.
Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri, also known as Lilpri, is a Japanese shōjo anime directed by Makoto Moriwaki. It was adapted from the Sega arcade game of the same name. It was also adapted into two manga series by Mai Jinna.
Poison (2003) is a young adult English-language fantasy novel written by Chris Wooding, published in 2003. It is a highly metafictional novel which follows the adventures of a young (sixteen-year-old) female protagonist named Poison as she attempts to rescue her sister from the Phaerie Realm. It contains many intertextual references particularly to mythology, fairy tales and secondary world fantasy characteristics.
Sagrada Reset, also known as Sakurada Reset, is a Japanese light novel series written by Yutaka Kōno and illustrated by You Shiina. The series was published by Kadokawa Shoten between 2009 and 2012. A manga adaptation was published in Monthly Shōnen Ace in 2010. A 24-episode anime television series produced by David Production aired from 5 April to 13 September 2017. The anime is licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. The two-part live-action film premiered on 25 March 2017 and 13 May 2017.
The Changeling Sea is a fantasy novel for juvenile readers by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Atheneum/Macmillan in October 1988, with a paperback edition issued by Del Rey/Ballantine in December 1989. It was subsequently reissued in paperback and ebook by Firebird/Penguin in April 2003. The first British edition was published in hardcover by Oxford University Press in September 1991, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in December 2015.
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