Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes Vol. 5: The Tale of Kushinada’s Divinity

Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes (Light Novel) #5

by Yoshiko Utamine, Kai Sadler (Translator), Yone Kazuki (Illustrator)

Confronting Despair

After the possessed kagura mask escapes, the Abnormal Disaster Unit has no choice but to rely on ordinary citizens to resolve the case alongside the police and Akitakata City government. Never has the unit worked with so many nonspiritual people before, and disaster strikes when the demon lures one such person into its clutches… Yukiko.

“They shall know our pain. They shall know our resentment.”

Misato, Ryouji, and Takayuki bravely confront that embodiment of despair—which no one, not even Yukiko herself, had noticed simmering in her heart.

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2026

Reviews

[Lois Bujold]

Continuing and perhaps concluding the series, as our pair of main characters (together, they fight supernatural crime) each find places in their community -- happy for now, I think.

This story finishes out the tale of the haunted kagura mask from Vol. 4, the settling of which entails some complicated rituals allowing the author to explore modern kagura/Shinto temple dancing, which is apparently recreated throughout Japan by amateur clubs (and professional shrines) a bit like RenFairs or community theater, but with a more serious spiritual element at times. I've encountered kagura many times in anime -- most memorably at the end of the first season of Kamisama Kiss and the end of one of the early-2000s Onmyoji films (adapted from a popular light novel series) where sorcerer Abe no Seimei dances before the gates of heaven to iirc rescue his friend Hiromasa. (Both films, Onmyoji (2001) and Onmyoji II (2003), are a trip, if you can find them.) It never once occurred to me to look up the contemporary art of kagura on YouTube, but that's now on my to-do list, thanks to the author's notes.

Again, one of the draws of the books is its rather loving portrait of the real modern setting. I'd rec it for that as much as for the supernatural adventure plotting. It feels rather like an aged-up cross between Natsume's Book of Friends (for the rural-ish setting) and Midnight Occult Civil Servants (for how yokai-control is folded quasi-realistically into local government.)

Really, this series needs to be an anime, but it does not seem to be well known. The translation style of the 5 books in English is better than average for this genre. If you are curious to explore the world of Japanese light novels in translation, this would be a fine place to start.

Ta, L.

[Tyas]

Walaupun arc Kushinada ini sudah dipecah jadi dua buku, tetap saja buku keduanya padat sekali, ya... Dan kalau dibaca berjauhan dari buku pertama sehingga agak terkesan standalone, buku kedua ini memang terasa 'terpenggal' strukturnya. Namun, ketika dibaca utuh, saya jadi kagum karena Utamine-sensei justru tidak memikirkan 'cara mudah' menyelesaikan kasus ini. Mulai dari birokrasi berbelit sampai sulitnya mencari orang-orang yang punya kemampuan untuk membantu upacara eksorsime terhadap sang enki (sehingga dibutuhkan waktu berbulan-bulan), semua dijabarkan dengan serius dan telaten. Walaupun, menurut saya, 'korban'-nya jadinya adalah pengembangan kedua karakter utama dengan lebih mendalam.

Yang jelas, dari buku ini tergambar sekali tidak hanya dalamnya riset, melainkan juga rasa cinta sensei kepada kagura dan kesenian tradisional lain. Menyenangkan sekali membaca penjabaran yang saksama semacam itu (dengan tetap nyambung dengan ceritanya) dalam karya fiksi semacam ini.