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Fushi no Kami Light Novel #1
Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village #1
Ash is a young boy with apparent past-life memories who lives in a remote, deserted village. As he remembers leading a bountiful life, he can’t bear living in a world akin to the Dark Ages, where not even the internal combustion engine exists. Ash envisions the rebirth of a civilization where housing with proper sanitation is the norm and the world is connected via a means of transportation faster than horses. For that reason, he is eager to consult books containing knowledge from a highly-developed ancient culture that is rumored to have existed far in the past.
Ash makes use of the church’s resources, learning how to read and obtaining the knowledge that he seeks. In addition, he enlists the help of the people around him, including Maika, the village chief’s daughter. Together, they aim to develop their own village.
This is only the beginning of the story about a young boy who sets out to revolutionize the world in order to rebuild civilization and create his ideal life!
Ash makes use of the church’s resources, learning how to read and obtaining the knowledge that he seeks. In addition, he enlists the help of the people around him, including Maika, the village chief’s daughter. Together, they aim to develop their own village.
This is only the beginning of the story about a young boy who sets out to revolutionize the world in order to rebuild civilization and create his ideal life!
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 25, 2019
102 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 17, 2020
Fushi No Kami has been compared to Bookworm, but I think it stands apart from it enough (and reminds me of other series, like The Economics of Prophecy with the bee business portion, the village focus of Cooking With Wild Game, and Realist Hero at times with the civilization management and goods processing). It follows a young 8-9 year old named Ash who has been living in a harsh Dark Ages type village where sickness, starvation, and poverty are only a few mistakes away. He wants to make life easier for himself, but to do so he'll ostensibly have to make it easy for the village too, so everybody wins. Books are his toolset, and the plot just so happens to conveniently have a past civilization that took great care to write down instructions on aspects of farming, botany, and other necessities of life that Ash can use as an easy guide if he learns to read.
The main character stands out almost immediately for his sass and wit. Ash could be described as a brat and know it all. He's a schemer who manipulates folks into doing what he wants. Luckily, what he wants just happens to be the best thing for the villagers, and so everyone prospers with his decisions so far, so it doesn't feel mean spirited. He is only 9 even if he's lived a past life, so I can forgive most of the childish mean spirited things he says or thinks, particularly when it comes to Father Folke or his dad (although... Feeding his dad experimental tranquilizer by pouring it into his beer because "screw those drunk people" was definitely a low point).
There is a very healthy cast of characters in this. Chief among them is probably Lady Maika, the village chief's daughter who becomes smitten with Ash after witnessing his most genuine smile when he exits the church carrying a precious book for the first time. Maika's mom is a lot of fun because she's actively trying to help her daughter "get her man". She also wears the pants in her family despite her husband being village chief, and acts as the secret leader that works deals with Ash to allow the village to prosper on his intelligent ventures without drawing too much attention to his profit. Ash's parents on the other hand don't get too much play, especially his mom. You get more of his jerkish old man who likes to spend time drinking, and while drunk cusses out his son for doing "unmanly" work like teaching others to read. Even the "jerk" characters so far have redeemed themselves or headed in good directions, so there's a lot of good vibes in it overall. Ash also acts as a surprisingly good teacher to villagers whom he befriends, including Tanya the beekeeper, Tanya's little bro, and Maika, and it's nice to see intellectual pursuits be encouraged (feels very J-Novel to me in that smart characters are rewarded and we can root for these nerds to study and fall in love).
There's definitely some room for criticism with this one. For one, the lead is Isekai'd, but I may have forgotten or missed who he was in the real world that he came from. His being Isekai'd seems really not as significant as it could be in terms of his knowledge, it's more his temperament that is affected by it (he uses more proper language and has a smarter attitude than other kids his age and even adults). Most of the time his "skill" is just being able to read, and the illiteracy of the village helps him stand out for now. He does start some business ventures and some herbalist stuff, but even a lot of that is just him learning from a botanical record, nothing too standout. Ash keeps his being reincarnated a secret because it "could cause problems", but I hope he lets at least someone like Maika or Father Folke know at some point.
The stupidity of the culture is also something I think folks will find insulting and unbelievable too. There are records in the church and in people's own houses that store vital information on subjects that could help keep the village from failing, and yet there's a bullheadedness that their oral tradition and farming knowledge is more than enough to stay afloat. You just wonder how they could just lose the written language so easily when the documents are there. I think folks will find it hard to believe how Father Folke (and seemingly hundreds of years of scholars) could just ignore the possibility that the 2K year old book's written characters could be pictograms or whatever, while a 9 year old Ash figured it out.
Overall, pretty pleased with the bit I read. I didn't quite finish the final prepub part, but I'll probably just keep going on to volume 2. The tagline "rebuilding civilization" is what will probably intrigue most to continue with this one. It's hinted at that this world was once prosperous enough to potentially have printing press technology, and Ash is likely going to work with Father Folke to uncover that mystery. I also want to see how the Ash x Maika plot plays out, and whether Father Folke might find his own happiness with someone eventually.
The main character stands out almost immediately for his sass and wit. Ash could be described as a brat and know it all. He's a schemer who manipulates folks into doing what he wants. Luckily, what he wants just happens to be the best thing for the villagers, and so everyone prospers with his decisions so far, so it doesn't feel mean spirited. He is only 9 even if he's lived a past life, so I can forgive most of the childish mean spirited things he says or thinks, particularly when it comes to Father Folke or his dad (although... Feeding his dad experimental tranquilizer by pouring it into his beer because "screw those drunk people" was definitely a low point).
There is a very healthy cast of characters in this. Chief among them is probably Lady Maika, the village chief's daughter who becomes smitten with Ash after witnessing his most genuine smile when he exits the church carrying a precious book for the first time. Maika's mom is a lot of fun because she's actively trying to help her daughter "get her man". She also wears the pants in her family despite her husband being village chief, and acts as the secret leader that works deals with Ash to allow the village to prosper on his intelligent ventures without drawing too much attention to his profit. Ash's parents on the other hand don't get too much play, especially his mom. You get more of his jerkish old man who likes to spend time drinking, and while drunk cusses out his son for doing "unmanly" work like teaching others to read. Even the "jerk" characters so far have redeemed themselves or headed in good directions, so there's a lot of good vibes in it overall. Ash also acts as a surprisingly good teacher to villagers whom he befriends, including Tanya the beekeeper, Tanya's little bro, and Maika, and it's nice to see intellectual pursuits be encouraged (feels very J-Novel to me in that smart characters are rewarded and we can root for these nerds to study and fall in love).
There's definitely some room for criticism with this one. For one, the lead is Isekai'd, but I may have forgotten or missed who he was in the real world that he came from. His being Isekai'd seems really not as significant as it could be in terms of his knowledge, it's more his temperament that is affected by it (he uses more proper language and has a smarter attitude than other kids his age and even adults). Most of the time his "skill" is just being able to read, and the illiteracy of the village helps him stand out for now. He does start some business ventures and some herbalist stuff, but even a lot of that is just him learning from a botanical record, nothing too standout. Ash keeps his being reincarnated a secret because it "could cause problems", but I hope he lets at least someone like Maika or Father Folke know at some point.
The stupidity of the culture is also something I think folks will find insulting and unbelievable too. There are records in the church and in people's own houses that store vital information on subjects that could help keep the village from failing, and yet there's a bullheadedness that their oral tradition and farming knowledge is more than enough to stay afloat. You just wonder how they could just lose the written language so easily when the documents are there. I think folks will find it hard to believe how Father Folke (and seemingly hundreds of years of scholars) could just ignore the possibility that the 2K year old book's written characters could be pictograms or whatever, while a 9 year old Ash figured it out.
Overall, pretty pleased with the bit I read. I didn't quite finish the final prepub part, but I'll probably just keep going on to volume 2. The tagline "rebuilding civilization" is what will probably intrigue most to continue with this one. It's hinted at that this world was once prosperous enough to potentially have printing press technology, and Ash is likely going to work with Father Folke to uncover that mystery. I also want to see how the Ash x Maika plot plays out, and whether Father Folke might find his own happiness with someone eventually.
October 11, 2020
When starting reading Fushi no Kami i was afraid it was another copy trying to ride on Bookworm theme. It's similar, but there is enough different themes and new ideas for it to feel somehow fresh.
So why not 5/5? First is common problem of forcing characters trait by stating them by narrator/other characters instead of showing them. Especially story told by different characters points feel like cheap way to state characters feeling and personality. And it's extra cheap when author use another characters points of view to describe awesomeness of main character, instead of simply showing it in story.
The second point is our main protagonist, being as typical isekai and quite boring at that. Random genius knowledge, suddenly multitasking and hard-working just because etc. And clueless as typical shonen protagonist. Other story characters also feel quite blank.
And so it's 3/5 in my book.
So why not 5/5? First is common problem of forcing characters trait by stating them by narrator/other characters instead of showing them. Especially story told by different characters points feel like cheap way to state characters feeling and personality. And it's extra cheap when author use another characters points of view to describe awesomeness of main character, instead of simply showing it in story.
The second point is our main protagonist, being as typical isekai and quite boring at that. Random genius knowledge, suddenly multitasking and hard-working just because etc. And clueless as typical shonen protagonist. Other story characters also feel quite blank.
And so it's 3/5 in my book.
March 12, 2023
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before I read a LN that I didn't enjoy. Unfortunately, this was an extremely generic experience since I am familiar with Ascendance of a Bookworm, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, etc. This book removed about half of the usual tropes and then presented the rest in a tepid fashion with super bland characters and writing.
A reader who's not familiar with any similar books would probably enjoy this a bit more, but it's hard to give any praise for this after reading many others that did a lot more with the story, characters, and generally everything.
I was really in the mood to just relax and dive into a nice Lite Novel series for a few books, but looks like I'll have to try a different one.
A reader who's not familiar with any similar books would probably enjoy this a bit more, but it's hard to give any praise for this after reading many others that did a lot more with the story, characters, and generally everything.
I was really in the mood to just relax and dive into a nice Lite Novel series for a few books, but looks like I'll have to try a different one.
November 14, 2020
Better than my expectations
Honestly, I tested this out because I couldn't find anything else to read. So my expectations weren't too high. That's said I took the sample and after I was done reading it thought "this might actually be interesting". So it is no suprise that I bought it right then and there.
Ash, the MC is a sad pitiable child at the begining not due to circumstances but due to his environment... well, maybe a little circumstance played a part since he wasn't ignorant about his position in life or blind to the living standards of his community. See - Ash was reincarnated and knew about the comfortable and easy life of modern civilization so when he recovered his memories at an early age he couldn't help but to feel forlorn. People dieing is commonplace. That is to say the littlest thing could mean the end for him or anyone else. More so in a world as primitive as the one he finds himself in. Education while known isn't as common as it was in his previous life, nor is there much knowledge on medicines and a slew of other practices and manufacturing processes that we take for granted. Still, due to circumstance he is given hope and so begins his search for knowledge.
If the world can't provide comfort than all he has to do is create it, if work is to difficult all he has to do is become more efficient, and if a product/material is required he need only invent it.
Actually there's allot of circumstances that help progress the story. Yep my mistake.
Point is our main character is driven and makes friends along the way. The story had, humor, intellect, adventure and romance.
After I finished this volume in it's entirety I can now say that I have no regrets. I can also now reccomend that you give this story good read and would like to hear your thoughts about what you thought of it.
Did Ash seem like a humble person or a dense one?
Are his dreams realistic?
What do you think if the progression of the village?
Did you find any plot holes? How do you think the author will address them later on?
What do think will happen next?
Most importantly do you think once he achieves his goals he will truly be happy or will he become so by obtaining something else entirely?
Honestly, I tested this out because I couldn't find anything else to read. So my expectations weren't too high. That's said I took the sample and after I was done reading it thought "this might actually be interesting". So it is no suprise that I bought it right then and there.
Ash, the MC is a sad pitiable child at the begining not due to circumstances but due to his environment... well, maybe a little circumstance played a part since he wasn't ignorant about his position in life or blind to the living standards of his community. See - Ash was reincarnated and knew about the comfortable and easy life of modern civilization so when he recovered his memories at an early age he couldn't help but to feel forlorn. People dieing is commonplace. That is to say the littlest thing could mean the end for him or anyone else. More so in a world as primitive as the one he finds himself in. Education while known isn't as common as it was in his previous life, nor is there much knowledge on medicines and a slew of other practices and manufacturing processes that we take for granted. Still, due to circumstance he is given hope and so begins his search for knowledge.
If the world can't provide comfort than all he has to do is create it, if work is to difficult all he has to do is become more efficient, and if a product/material is required he need only invent it.
Actually there's allot of circumstances that help progress the story. Yep my mistake.
Point is our main character is driven and makes friends along the way. The story had, humor, intellect, adventure and romance.
After I finished this volume in it's entirety I can now say that I have no regrets. I can also now reccomend that you give this story good read and would like to hear your thoughts about what you thought of it.
Did Ash seem like a humble person or a dense one?
Are his dreams realistic?
What do you think if the progression of the village?
Did you find any plot holes? How do you think the author will address them later on?
What do think will happen next?
Most importantly do you think once he achieves his goals he will truly be happy or will he become so by obtaining something else entirely?
June 18, 2025
So here is yet another in a series of stories following the general idea of 'isekai from more or less our world, dropped into another world, and using their knowledge to advance/rebuild civilization'.
It is a type of story that I have have read in the past and will continue to look for. Lets see where I would put this...
Release that witch (Main character knowledge - mechanical engineer)
Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter (Main character knowledge - office worker/accounting)
How a Realist Hero rebuilt the kingdom (Main character knowledge - civil service / history)
Seiun wo Kakeru (Main character knowledge - Blacksmithing)
Now here, the main character's knowledge is fairly general... they know that certain things are possible because they remember them. The have to work at things even from the level of literacy, and get most of their detailed knowledge from ancient books from before civilization collapsed two thousand years ago... but are aware that some things are -not- legends or myths, and are possible (such as later knowing that airplanes are a real thing).
There are a number of similarities with Seiun wo Kakeru - in that they are not starting from a fantasy or medieval setting, but farther back (Seiun wo kakeru taking place in the Bronze age).. or at least, a post apocalyptic world that has currently gotten to Iron age.. (or possibly ..there are hints that the world was modern two thousand years previous, but that things have been falling apart since then, and the main character is turning the tide back).
If you like the other stories that I mentioned earlier, I recommend that you at least give this first book a read thru; if you know of other similar type stories I would appreciate hearing about them =)
It is a type of story that I have have read in the past and will continue to look for. Lets see where I would put this...
Release that witch (Main character knowledge - mechanical engineer)
Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter (Main character knowledge - office worker/accounting)
How a Realist Hero rebuilt the kingdom (Main character knowledge - civil service / history)
Seiun wo Kakeru (Main character knowledge - Blacksmithing)
Now here, the main character's knowledge is fairly general... they know that certain things are possible because they remember them. The have to work at things even from the level of literacy, and get most of their detailed knowledge from ancient books from before civilization collapsed two thousand years ago... but are aware that some things are -not- legends or myths, and are possible (such as later knowing that airplanes are a real thing).
There are a number of similarities with Seiun wo Kakeru - in that they are not starting from a fantasy or medieval setting, but farther back (Seiun wo kakeru taking place in the Bronze age).. or at least, a post apocalyptic world that has currently gotten to Iron age.. (or possibly ..there are hints that the world was modern two thousand years previous, but that things have been falling apart since then, and the main character is turning the tide back).
If you like the other stories that I mentioned earlier, I recommend that you at least give this first book a read thru; if you know of other similar type stories I would appreciate hearing about them =)
June 25, 2022
Generic. That pretty much sums this one up.
I'm a little surprised at how overwhelmingly positive the reviews are on this one. I'm a bit over halfway through this, and not sure I'm going to finish, and I'm definitely not going to be reading future volumes. I read a fair bit of isekai, and I freely admit that it's mostly pretty mindless entertainment, with a few standouts like Ascendance of a Bookworm that I count as genuinely good. This one is...not. The writing is often stilted (I'm not sure how much of that is the author, and how much is the translator, granted), and the characters and setting are absurdly generic. The main character...has memories of a previous life, with zero details beyond that, so it literally only matters such that the main character can be special. I'm assuming that might be deliberate to make it easier for the reader to imagine themselves in the story? There's barely any description of the nameless village that the book takes place in, and the characters and their relationships don't feel believable at all.
There are potentially interesting tidbits, like the ancient advanced civilization and its untranslated language, but there aren't nearly enough of them to keep me engaged when the rest is so flimsy.
I'm a little surprised at how overwhelmingly positive the reviews are on this one. I'm a bit over halfway through this, and not sure I'm going to finish, and I'm definitely not going to be reading future volumes. I read a fair bit of isekai, and I freely admit that it's mostly pretty mindless entertainment, with a few standouts like Ascendance of a Bookworm that I count as genuinely good. This one is...not. The writing is often stilted (I'm not sure how much of that is the author, and how much is the translator, granted), and the characters and setting are absurdly generic. The main character...has memories of a previous life, with zero details beyond that, so it literally only matters such that the main character can be special. I'm assuming that might be deliberate to make it easier for the reader to imagine themselves in the story? There's barely any description of the nameless village that the book takes place in, and the characters and their relationships don't feel believable at all.
There are potentially interesting tidbits, like the ancient advanced civilization and its untranslated language, but there aren't nearly enough of them to keep me engaged when the rest is so flimsy.
September 17, 2021
is book.
It was a book.
It was always a book that connected the will.
In history, many tyrants have tried to destroy books. There are even words such as Bookburning and Vibrio Coast, which refer only to burning books.
But no one has succeeded.
The book was burned, turned into ashes, crumbled, but did not disappear.
Someone put it in his pocket and saved him from the flames.
Someone buried it in the soil of the garden and missed it from the tyrant's eyes.
Someone pushed it into that unreliable memory and took it out after the flames were blown out.
Books have always been with brave and passionate rebels and have fought against tyrants.
Books are fighting again today. He continues to fight the biggest and strongest tyrants, which began with the birth of history or with the birth of books.
Time is the name of a ruthless and diligent tyrant who constantly keeps an eye on books and constantly tries to erase them.
Yes, the book is still fighting to be erased by the violence of the times.
This was the introduction of this novel and the reason I'm reading it, hopefully I found a treasure.
It was a book.
It was always a book that connected the will.
In history, many tyrants have tried to destroy books. There are even words such as Bookburning and Vibrio Coast, which refer only to burning books.
But no one has succeeded.
The book was burned, turned into ashes, crumbled, but did not disappear.
Someone put it in his pocket and saved him from the flames.
Someone buried it in the soil of the garden and missed it from the tyrant's eyes.
Someone pushed it into that unreliable memory and took it out after the flames were blown out.
Books have always been with brave and passionate rebels and have fought against tyrants.
Books are fighting again today. He continues to fight the biggest and strongest tyrants, which began with the birth of history or with the birth of books.
Time is the name of a ruthless and diligent tyrant who constantly keeps an eye on books and constantly tries to erase them.
Yes, the book is still fighting to be erased by the violence of the times.
This was the introduction of this novel and the reason I'm reading it, hopefully I found a treasure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2022
Excellent casual read
I picked this book up quite awhile ago, it sat on my kindle for months before I got around to reading it. I thought it was a city builder in a fantasy world and although it kinda is the focus is more on the slice of life. This like several other translated books I have read can get a bit redundant and rambling but I did not mind it in this work. I look forward to the next installments and wait impatiently for some city\empire building.
I picked this book up quite awhile ago, it sat on my kindle for months before I got around to reading it. I thought it was a city builder in a fantasy world and although it kinda is the focus is more on the slice of life. This like several other translated books I have read can get a bit redundant and rambling but I did not mind it in this work. I look forward to the next installments and wait impatiently for some city\empire building.
November 3, 2020
Very cute and well thought book! The main character is a very smart and witty young man. I love the way it retells parts from different perspectives and includes how different developments in time effect the village.
April 4, 2022
There's some humor to this, but this is a really interesting premise of trying to develop and build up a society from scratch. I look forward to see what our protagonist can do in the future as he gets older and gets more access to information.
August 23, 2022
Загалом окей, на три зірочки потягне. Читається легко, але постійні переключання на POV інших персонажів - сумнівна ідея. Як то кажуть - show, don't tell, і автор якраз замість того, щоб показати нам головного героя, вирішив просто описувати його з точки зору інших персонажів. Пишу цей відгук вже після того як прочитав другий том, і ситуація, нажаль, не покращилася.
January 17, 2021
Great story, world building and character building is great.
March 22, 2021
Interesting book
It starts out a little slow but, it gets much better. I'm looking forward to the second book now. I want to know what happens.
It starts out a little slow but, it gets much better. I'm looking forward to the second book now. I want to know what happens.
June 21, 2021
It’s not bad.
July 15, 2021
I really love this story and I will be reading volume 2
November 3, 2021
OK but I think his obliviousness might get a bit tiresome.
February 2, 2022
One of the better Isekai, first 5 books are great reads.
April 17, 2022
This is exactly what I am looking for... thanks..
January 9, 2023
I don't think I am the target audience for this novel (too much bad shounen vibe). So dropping it
December 14, 2021
The plot of the story is not particularly original, a man from a modern (if not a futuristic) world is reborn in a primitive one. Using the knowledge from his previous life and the books of a previous civilization he sets out to change the world for more comfort and happiness. We follow his first few steps within the village.
The story itself is enjoyable, the characters likeable if a bit simple. The protagonist is dense, but that is nothing new to the genre. At least there is no harem (yet) or echi moments. The worldbuilding appears to be solid and intriguing: what is the ancient civilization and what destroyed it? If you are looking for action and magic though the book is not for you. It is slow paced, a slice-of-life story. I enjoyed it, but I like these kind of stories. I am looking forward to the next part.
The story itself is enjoyable, the characters likeable if a bit simple. The protagonist is dense, but that is nothing new to the genre. At least there is no harem (yet) or echi moments. The worldbuilding appears to be solid and intriguing: what is the ancient civilization and what destroyed it? If you are looking for action and magic though the book is not for you. It is slow paced, a slice-of-life story. I enjoyed it, but I like these kind of stories. I am looking forward to the next part.
May 28, 2022
Not much going on with the internal combustion engine mentioned in the summary, but my first thought on reading that was to wonder how the ICU comes before the simpler external combustion engine (the most well-known generally being the steam engine), or even non-combustion-powered devices, such as bicycles or other human-powered machines.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews