White Cranes Castle

by Geraldine Harris

Genres: Fantasy

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1979

About the author

Also known as Geraldine Pinch.

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone in Taisan province saw the Celestial Dog bound across the heavens. Some said the star was an omen of evil, others claimed it as a glorious portent for the House of Medatashi. Only the Sennin Naginoki, summoned from his cave on the mountain, could explain the meaning of the sign in the night sky: that a child conceived in White Cranes Castle would recover the lost Imperial Sword now hidden somewhere in Taisan, and by its power unite and rule the warring land.
But which child - Mikoto, son of White Cranes' warrior lord, strong, brave and sure of his destiny, or Akari, his gentle, studious cousin, so unlike Mikoto though they grew up together and were friends? Which of these two would prove to be the better match for the terrible eight-headed dragon who guarded the ancient sword? No one in the castle doubted Mikoto's claim, but then no one - except Akari - had any idea just how tricky and how dangerous dealing with dragons can be.
This extraordinary tale is laid in the legendary world of medieval Japan where the fox spirits and winged demons which haunt the countryside - and the dragon slumbering beneath the waters of the lake - contrast strangely with the elegance and formality of life within the five-tiered citadel of White Cranes Castle.

(inside jacket cover.) Jacket design by Lisa Jensen

Unfortunately, that jacket summary gives too much away. I can undo it somewhat by saying that no one (apart from the Sennin, perhaps, but he's an elusive hermit of a holy man) thinks that the Celestial Dog came as a portent for anyone other than Mikoto. Mikoto is the current ruler's son, a new dynasty with much less credibility than Akari's lineage, who stems from a decaying but historically illustrious imperial family. Akari is the poor, unfashionable "old money" cousin who is gentle and studious and horribly uncool. Mikoto, handsome, brash and over-confident, takes the feeble Akari under his wing.

This story is much more depressing and dark than the summary suggests. Akari's father commits seppuku very early in the book, his mother is heartbroken, and abandons the child Akari to the care of Mikoto's family in order to join a monastic Buddhist life and transcend this evil world. She cuts all ties to life, including the inconvenient bond between mother and child. Akari suffers, alone, taking care to study the ancient texts and uphold his forebearer's traditions (vegetarianism, for example). Mikoto flourishes, surrounded by supporters, glitzy new fashions, flashy new money.

Time passes. Mikoto and Akari remain close cousins, in spite of all their external and internal differences. This story is Akari's, though, as we follow him on the path of his less-public, aesthetic life full of quiet misery. We discover what his heart's true desire is, and the consequences of his choice. He also must decide if he can be the man his father was not. Meanwhile, on the more superficial side of things, Mikoto is going to suffer hard from 'imposter-syndrome' at some point, and what will come of that for Akari? In essence, who did the Celestial Dog really come to signify? Was the prophecy ever as simple as it at first seemed?

Since it will bring you nothing but sorrow, yes. Such are the gifts of dragons to men.

It's not a terribly uplifting story. Noble sacrifice in the name of love plays a major theme. Sacrifice in general, perhaps, is the entire subplot. All in vain? Some of it in vain? It's hard to say.

This book would appeal to someone with a keen interest in feudal Japan and Japanese mythology. I often felt that if I knew more about the Oni, Tengu, and dragons in general, I may have been able to parse more meaning out of this (it's brief). It's no The Plum-Rain Scroll, which I found far more accessible and juvenile (in the best possible way!); this one is serious YA in scope and extremely hard-hitting emotionally (that's the thrust of the story - the tanuki tea kettle is simply a side act, as was the enchanted kite, both too brief for my liking). A couple of oddities - tanukis are 'badgers'? And sake is spelled 'saki', which confused me for a time. Women are treated as they would have been in the historical period; probably because the author is a woman, we hear from them more than we would have. But this really is a male-centric story. Two male cousins, whose mothers both loom large in their subsconsciouses (we meet both mothers multiple times). It's also a story of family dynamics and of divided loyalties.

I've rounded up to 4 stars because there were some scenes here that I found absolutely magical. But there's something extremely utilitarian about the book's construction, and I don't think it quite managed to carry it off - it just needed more padding, more fleshing out, to engage this reader fully. The timeline flies, and where we have young boys playing, we suddenly have eighteen year old princes committing adultery, or sulking in decaying mansions while dreaming about dragons and cursed bells. And then the culmination of the Celestial Dog prophecy:

In White Cranes Castle a child had been conceived who should recover the sword and by its power might replace the puppet Emperor and unite the warring land; and even the Celestial Dog would fawn on such a ruler

The devil's in the detail - there's a clause or two in that prophecy, if you see. Might and would. Should? Will? Ought to? I still don't know.

There isn't much out there regarding this book, and so I'd like to credit "One and One Make Three" on blogger for their brief review (here: https://oneandoneequalsthree.blogspot... ), which helped me to decide to buy it.

My copy of this book was purchased from The Children's Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye. I very highly recommend this shop. I have been a repeat customer for years and have never once been the slightest disappointed. They don't advertise, and so I figured I'd try to give them a boost. There are so few ma-and-pa style shops left these days. Have a browse: https://childrensbookshop.com/

If you enjoy reading dusty, juvenile fiction from yesteryear, I'd like to formally invite you to join the Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished! group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... where like-minded Goodreads members discuss out of print stories from ca. the 80s and earlier. I've received some wonderful suggestions from my fellow members. You're most welcome to join us.