The lost Ryu by Emi Watanabe Cohen

It is the mid 1960’s and Kohei lives with his mother and grumpy, violent grandfather, Ojisan. Most Japanese people have palm-sized dragons called ryu. Kohei’s ryu, Yuhara, perches on Kohei’s shoulder giving him advice, translating, and adding sarcastic quips. Kohei has a strange memory and believes that Ojisan’s bad behaviour is tied to the disappearance of the large ryu after World War 2. He hopes that by finding a large ryu Ojisan will be happy again.

Ten-year-old Isolde and her family from the USA move into an apartment downstairs. Kohei eventually makes friends with Isolde, who has Jewish/Japanese heritage and has an American dragon. Kohei persuades Isolde to go with him to a new Ryugu-jo where ryu are hatched from stones. However, from there their quest to the old, original Ryugu-jo becomes even more extraordinary and Kohei uncovers the mystery of what happened to the large ryus and Kohei’s much loved father.

This is an amazing story. The juxtaposition of reality and fantasy work well. The characterization and family drama are well developed and convincing. Kohei is a principled, determined character while Isolde is wise beyond her years, drawing on her experience and family heritage. Kohei’s mother is resigned to their unhappy life and tolerates Ojisan’s bad behaviour, repeatedly saying things like shikata ga nai – there’s nothing we can do. But Kohei acts on his father’s wise words yamenaide – don’t quit. There are many things to learn about Japanese culture and history in the story.

I found the fantasy aspects equally appealing.There are no whiz bang gadgets and the fantasy feels seamless. I loved the dragons and Emi Watanabe Cohen created a unique world which honors the Japanese connection to the ocean. Themes of terrible betrayal, the traumatic legacy of war, overt nationalism, and the need to be accepted make this a sophisticated deep and puzzling story at times, but totally worth reading.

Themes: Dragons, Japanese culture, Racism, Bravery.

Jo Marshall