Festival of shadows: A Japanese ghost story by Atelier Sento

Naoko lives in a small village in the Japanese countryside where the locals are caretakers for shadows, spirits who need to find out their identities and come to terms with their death before moving on to the next world. They can be seen and talk to their carer but appear as shadows to the other villagers. Regular meetings are held to try and discover the identities of the spirits before the annual Festival of Shadows when they might be lost. Naoko’s first shadow, a little girl, disappeared before she found out who she was so when another attaches himself to her she is not confident of success. Gradually, with the help of her friend Katsu, the identity of the young man, a handsome, talented artist named Yukito becomes clear but there is something terrible troubling the spirit so Naoko travels to Tokyo where he lived and becomes involved to the point of risking her own life.

Infused with wonderful watercolour artwork the Japanese countryside and way of life is beautifully realised in the subtle and engaging images. Shadows are rendered in soft shades without outline, the black abandoned souls, scarily nightmarish and the living characters have wide ranging emotional expressions. The story, while about death and spirits, also has warmth and some humour; Naoko gets her spirit to carry her up the nearly 1000 steps to the shrine. At the beginning of each season the full page illustration is of the Japanese character with a symbol of the season like cherry blossom for spring and there are cut away illustrations of Naoko’s house and Yukito’s apartment in Tokyo.

This is a complex story, subtly told, beautifully illustrated and infused with Japanese culture that can be enjoyed by a wide range of readers. There is an animated excerpt from the book online and a sequel not yet translated.

Themes: Japanese culture, Ghosts, Relationships, Folklore.

Sue Speck