風の万里 黎明の空〈下〉

十二国記 [Jūni Kokuki] #7

by Fuyumi Ono, 小野不由美

王は人々の希望。だから会いにゆく。景王陽子は街に下り、重税や苦役に喘ぐ民の暮らしを初めて知り、己の不甲斐なさに苦悶した。一方、祥瓊は、父が弑逆(しいぎゃく)された真相を知らず過ごした自分を恥じ、同じ年頃の娘が王に就いた国を訪ねる。鈴もまた、華軒(くるま)に轢き殺された友の仇討ちを誓い、慶へ。だが邂逅(であい)を果たす少女たちの前には民を苦しめる豺虎(けだもの)の影が。──立ち向かう者に希望は訪れるのか。

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Japanese Literature, Novels, Adventure, Young Adult

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 1994

About the author

Kanji Name: 小野 不由美.

Fuyumi Ono (小野 不由美, Ono Fuyumi) is a Japanese novelist who is best known for writing the Twelve Kingdoms (十二国記, Juuni Kokuki) series, on which a popular anime is based. Her name after marriage is Fuyumi Uchida (内田不由美, Uchida Fuyumi), but she writes under her maiden name.

Ono was born in Nakatsu, Ōita, Kyūshū in 1960. She graduated from Ōtani University in Kyōto with a degree in Buddhist Studies, and in 1988 was employed by the publisher Kōdansha. Her debut story is titled Sleepless on Birthday Eve.

Ono is married to Naoyuki Uchida (内田直行, Uchida Naoyuki), a mystery novelist who writes under the pseudonym Yukito Ayatsuji (綾辻行人 , Ayatsuji Yukito).

Before she started work on Twelve Kingdoms, Fuyumi Ono wrote The Demonic Child (魔性の子), a horror novel about a boy from another world. She later worked certain events from this novel into the Twelve Kingdoms series. Short stories set in the various kingdoms include: Kasho, Toei, Shokan, Kizan and Jogetsu. In February, 2008, the first new Twelve Kingdoms short story, Hisho no Tori (丕緒の鳥) was published in Shinchosha's Yomyom magazine.

According to an interview at the Anime News Network, she is "currently rewriting a girls' horror series (she) wrote long ago."

- Wikipedia

Reviews

[二六 侯 · Rating 4 out of 5]

小野很喜歡多角度敘事，這一部就有三個女主角。主要的議題是在於：更高的權力，就是更多的責任。

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was for the Tokyopop edition and will be update once I've reread the Sevenseas version

If a story has no romance whatsoever and I rate it four stars or above, you can be sure it means I think it's pretty fantastic. Skies of Dawn picks up after the first instalment of the series and actually consists of three volumes (resulting in a 650-page chunk of a book for its English release). I thought I'd be working my way through this one for quite a while due to heavy world-building, yet this book was near impossible to put down.

The first instalment of The Twelve Kingdoms was fantastic for character development, the following two were great for political intrigue and all of them had wonderful world-building. Skies of Dawn, however, excels at all three. Although the world-building can at times be a little heavy-handed (we spend a good few pages learning about this world's measuring conventions...), it is one of the most fleshed-out fictional worlds I have come across and in that respect alone would I even compare it to the likes of Tolkien.

While I absolutely appreciate this vivid world, I have always been one to prefer character-driven stories and this book takes you on a journey with not only one but three great characters: we finally get to follow Yoko from the first instalment who is now struggling with her new role as the King of Kei (this world does not differentiate between male and female rules, they are always referred to as king). Then we have Suzu, another girl from Japan who has been whisked off to the Twelve Kingdoms, who has no true place of her own and feels that no one is helping her in this strange new land. And third, we have Shoukei, a princess of the Hou kingdom who is stripped of her title after her father the King has been dethroned and murdered.

We follow the story of each of these three main characters from completely different ends of the kingdom. All three of them have their own share of problems and initially start out from very different circumstances - eventually, their storylines lead together and they turn out to have more in common than what first meets the eye. I adore stories that have multiple point of views that eventually flow into one. Finding out how these three characters would eventually meet was one of the biggest page-turners.

These three girls aren't only out on an actual journey but also on one of self-discovery - although Yoko is the only one who is truly aware of it. Yoko doesn't know how to run her kingdom and is dissatisfied with her ministers and how her voice is never heard. Determined to learn more about her kingdom, she sets out to live among her people as a commoner only to discover that there is a lot more wrong in the kingdom of Kei than she could ever have hoped to learn whilst in her palace. The fact that she needed to keep her identity a secret was one of the more thrilling elements of this story and the multiple point of view narration allows the reader to smirk on Yoko's behalf whenever people complain to her about the incompetence of the king.

Shoukei is on a similar path but for very different reasons: her father was murdered due to his harsh reign over his people. Shoukei is also punished, but rather than execution, she is stripped of her titles (including her immortality) and is brought to live in an orphanage where she is treated like a slave. Hers was the story that moved me the most, mainly because I thought the treatment she received was utterly unfair. Throughout the story, Shoukei is blamed for all the wrongs her father has done, even to the extent of people wanting her dead and even Shoukei herself eventually thinking she is as much to blame. While I will agree that Shoukei could have done more from her position as a princess, she genuinely did not know about her father's crimes. While other characters say she should have known, I do wonder, how should she have known? She spent her entire life in the castle, she wasn't allowed out and she had no way of knowing what was happening to the people. I don't mind that she lost her title and was sent to live as a commoner, but I do think that the other characters were much to harsh on her. Despite the what I consider ill-treatment, Shouki undergoes a great character development from an unknowing princess to one with lots of compassion and will to make a difference.

Suzu's journey is a little like Yoko's from the first book: she is stranded in a fantastical land with no place to go, no money and no ability to speak to the locals. She feels isolated and ultimately becomes a servant to an immortal which in turn also grants her immortality but, more importantly, the ability to understand other people even without knowing the language. Nonetheless, she is also ill-treated as a servant and often bemoans her cruel fate. Much like Shouki, I find that the other characters are too harsh on her: yes, she complains a lot about her lot rather than doing anything about it, but I also agree with Suzu that she is in a tough spot. Other characters belittle her saying she should grow some backbone because everyone has a hard life. That may be true, but it doesn't make Suzu's situation any less difficult. Much like Shoukei, she finds herself on a journey where she ends up meeting and caring for people and ultimately stands in the middle of a rebellion.

All three characters are courageous but flawed making them wonderful characters. But another strong factor of Skies of Dawn was the political intrigue. There is so much going on and the multiple point of views actually raise more questions than answer them. You're left guessing and wondering until the very near end when things finally start to fall into place. It's a perfectly written story of how people rise up to tyranny and how a young king leaves her mark on steering the kingdom to a brighter future.

I often see complaints about the poor translation and I am not entirely sure what people are referring to. There are minor typos - of course, these shouldn't be there, but I find similar typos in the likes of popular books such as Rick Riordan's works. Some phrases could have perhaps been written a bit more elegantly but it by no means gets in the way of reading. Apparently, there is a whole chapter missing from the hardcover edition, though - I have read the paperback and haven't had any issues whatsoever.

I am very grateful to the friend who recommended The Twelve Kingdoms to me as I would otherwise have ignored this epic series due to not being fully translated. The sad news for me at this point is that Skies of Dawn is the last that's been translated. While each instalment is a complete story and could be considered the end, I've enjoyed this series so much that I desperately want to read the sequels. One way or another, I will find a way to read the next books. Highly recommended to those who enjoy world-building and character-driven stories - albeit the English editions are a pain to get a copy of.

[Mylove4book · Rating 5 out of 5]

連王師都叫不動, 景王好慘~XDD 二刷看劇情發現其實不複雜嘛, 陽子真應該惡補點宮鬥劇再去當王w 景麒也真是, 在宮中完全不起作用...果然是不夠成熟的麒麟, 現在連泰麒寶寶都比他腹黑了w
還剩下風之海迷宮之岸, 黃昏之岸曉之天, 華胥之幽夢 待二刷, 白銀之墟1&2的內容也忘了大半, 懶散閱讀的這幾個月居然被尖端的翻譯迎頭趕上了!? 離白銀3&4只剩一個周末可用啦~ 加速加速!!

[Kinofhera · Rating 5 out of 5]

這一集（其實有兩本書）十分精彩！看得又痛心又激動，心情久久不能平復。

令我有點想起雨果的《悲慘世界》。

[Thedisreputabledog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great arc! Really felt like Youko growing into a great Queen! She understands when work needs to be done and how to self reflect. I can't wait to see what she does in the future.

[Arito Sato · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E9%A2%A8%E3%...

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

20171111

#風の万里黎明の空 上下巻 #十二国記 #小野不由美 さん #読了 #再読

景王陽子の即位後の話。月の影影の海から陽子の成長が激しい。かっこいい。十代半ばの女子高生がここまでかっこよくなれるのか。すごい。知識だけじゃなく肌で感じて学ぶこと。それを実行してみせた。逆に祥瓊と鈴の幼さと調子の良さが痛々しい。成長するにはもう少し色々あったほうがいいんじゃないのかなぁと老婆心を持ってしまった。最後の陽子の初勅シーンは胸がすかっとした。