I first found the Tales of the Otori series in a teacher's bookshelf last year. I have a habit of going into bookshelves and grabbing random books, so when I saw the cover I decided it was interesting and took it for reading. The book I read then was Across the Nightingale Floor- the original Tale of the Otori, although since then the author seems to have written a prequel as well as three sequels. This year, long after I completed the first book, I again saw the rather alluring cover design featuring the closeup of the eye, and so borrowed the two next books in the original trilogy to read. And after I finished, I decided to do a post on both books rather than one, because it seems like the books were written to be read together; the second book reads stupidly incomplete without the third.
The story of the Tales of the Otori trilogy is set in a fantasy, historical Japan, told by a boy in his late teens named Takeo. This is a tale of love, loyalty, beliefs and, above all, conflict- Takeo's own struggles with his life and beliefs, Kaede, his lover's struggle to be respected in her own right in a world that worships men and devalues women, and the ultimate struggles of the Japanese clans to dominate the Three Countries of the island. It's an adventure story, very much action-based, but all the same, the story illustrates compellingly the brutality and inequality in those days, and what the pair of young lovers had to face to overcome it.
Takeo is torn between three identities: that of his birth, a wild boy among the peaceful, loving Hidden (rather like a variation of Christianity), which was all he knew until he was sixteen; the heir to the warrior class of the Otori, a position into which he was adopted, but later found out he also laid legitimate blood claim to, full of honor and pride and bringing with it the burdens of a soldier and a leader of his people; and finally, the dark, shadowy Tribe, a secret society with immense magical powers that makes money by using these to spy and assassinate for whoever pays them, and that lays claim to Takeo because of his unmatched skill in these gifts, given to him from his father who he never knew. He wants none of these, but he has to face all three, no matter how he tries to escape; he must choose his true loyalty, overcome the impossible challenges that face him and unite his people in order to bring peace to the Three Countries, a destiny which he eventually fulfils to rule from sea to sea.
Meanwhile, his lover that he met at his adopted Otori father's betrothal ceremony, the beautiful Shirakawa Kaede, struggles to prove herself in her own right and to play the game, not just be a pawn for powerful men to manipulate as they please. She falls in love with Takeo at first sight, but seemingly unsurmountable obstacles lie between them; she wants, above all, to prove that women can be just as ruthless and influential as men can, that she can wield power just like men can, in a society which places the value of men far higher than that of women. She learns to be a leader, and forces herself to take up brutality to match her male counterparts; eventually, together with Takeo, they conquer all of the Three Countries and she is finally respected in her own right, rather than just as a beautiful plaything for men to do with and discard as they please.
Together, they accomplish what seems infeasible, and their story is a fast-paced, exciting and courageous journey that spans far and wide and stops at nothing but death.
