The Kouga Ninja Scrolls (translated by Geoff Sant) is a historical fantasy novel by Futaro Yamada. It led to several adaptations in the manga, anime and movie genres; I had seen the movie “Shinobi” (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade) some time back, and liked it a lot.
The book tells the story of two ninja clans, Tsubagakure of Iga and Manjidani of Kouga, and the deadly battle between 10 ninja selected from each clan to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. Surrounding this battle are elements of love, of a deep mistrust borne of a 400-year old enmity, of enhanced physical prowess and serious physical aberrations due to years of inbreeding, and of some fantastic displays of supernatural ninja powers.
I have actually never read a story solely about ninjas. This one, in fact, went one step further by bestowing the ninja with magical abilities! This was fantasy on a whole new level! Although it took some time for me to familiarize myself with all the names, it was fascinating reading about Kouga Gennosuke and his basilisk eyes that can reverse any murderous intent aimed at him; Kisaragi Saemon and his ability to take on another person’s identity via a facial mud pack; Kasumi Gyoubu and his technique of becoming invisible by completely merging into any solid surface; Udono Jousuke and his ability to turn into a ball that can be hard as a boulder and yet light enough to roll uphill; Jimushi Jubei who has no limbs and attacks using a spear that he keeps inside his oesophagus; Yakushiji Tenzen who can always come back to life even when decapitated; Amayo Jingorou who is able to dissolve into a liquid form; Hotarubi who can summon swarms of glowing pink butterflies…!
A word of warning - and if you have read any Japanese literature, this will not come as a surprise - but the clashes can get quite descriptively gory.
One of my favourite characters was Udono Jousuke. He was a faithful friend to Gennosuke; he was the first to discover the secret scroll… and that is why his encounter with Jingorou was especially shocking.
Amid the heated battle, is a tragic love story that engulfs two generations of opposing clans - from Kouga Danjou, lord of Kouga Manjidani and Ogen the elderly chieftess of Iga Tsubagakure, to Kouga Gennosuke, heir to Kouga Danjou and Oboro, Iga princess.
Although this was not the best Japanese book I have read, it was the first of its kind, and for that reason it was a unique and memorable reading experience.
“… ninja wars are a blood-soaked hell”, says Kisaragi Saemon at one point… it really and truly was… at times underhand, at times clever, at times downright treacherous, but always, always tragic. The inherent tragedy is that the reason behind this terrible battle to the death is a secret that remains with the ninja till the very end. As the blue moonlight is reflected on the Suruga waters, and the hawk takes the scroll up one last time, no one, but no one knows the horror of the past 10 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment