Teito Monogatari

Teito Monogatari

Covers of the 1995 reprinted volumes
Author	Hiroshi Aramata
Language	Japanese
Genre	Historical Fiction Fantasy Horror
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Published	1985--1989
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)

Teito Monogatari (帝都物語) (roughly translated as Tale of the Imperial Capital) is a Japanese historical fantasy epic written by Hiroshi Aramata.

Overview

The novel is a fictional retelling of the history of Edo from an occultist perspective. The story is based on popular folklore speculation that the curse of Taira no Masakado greatly influenced the city's history from its inception to the beginning of the 21st century. Set across several generations, the plot revolves around multiple characters and their struggles with the seemingly immortal majin Yasunori Katō, who wants to cripple the Japanese Empire by destroying Tokyo. The story makes heavy use of real historical events and characters from all throughout Edo's history. It also strongly incorporates elements of folklore from all over the world, especially Japan and China. Mystical phenomena which are utilized in the story include:

• onmyodo
• shikigami
• Feng Shui
• Kimon Tonkou
• shugendo
• kodoku
• evil eye

The historical characters who play major or supporting roles in the plot include:

• Tachibana no Hayanari
• Aterui
• Tōyama Kagemoto
• Hirata Atsutane
• Hijikata Toshizō
• Ichimura Tetsunosuke
• Enomoto Takeaki
• Edward and Henry Schnell
• Prince Sawara
• Sugawara no Michizane
• Thomas Blakiston
• Kōda Rohan
• Satō Nobuhiro
• Joseph Needham
• Mori Ōgai
• Torahiko Terada
• Karl Haushofer
• Shoma Morita
• Makoto Nishimura
• Gakutensoku
• Shibusawa Eiichi
• Kyōka Izumi
• Masatoshi Ōkōchi
• Noritsugu Hayakawa
• Goto Shinpei
• Korekiyo Takahashi
• Ikki Kita
• Puyi
• Kanji Ishiwara
• Ōtani Kōzui
• Shūmei Ōkawa
• Masahiko Amakasu
• Yukio Mishima
• George Gurdjieff
• Haruki Kadokawa

The chronology of the first ten volumes spans from 1908 to 1998, while the eleventh and twelfth volumes go back and fill in more history around 1930's--1940's. When the novel was republished in 1995, volumes 11 and 12 were inserted in between volumes 5 and 6.

Volumes in the main novel

• Vol. 1: Great Spirit of Tokyo
• Vol. 2: City of the Demon
• Vol. 3: The Great Earthquake (in reference to the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake)
• Vol. 4: Movement of the Dragon
• Vol. 5: Advent of the Devil
• Vol. 6: The Phoenix
• Vol. 7: Rampant Evil (The Demon's Journey of 100 Nights)
• Vol. 8: Shrine of the Future
• Vol. 9: Power of the Morning Spirit
• Vol. 10: Resurrection
• Vol. 11: Great War in the Capital
• Vol. 12: Greater East Asia

History

While participating in the creation of Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, translator and author Hiroshi Aramata was inspired by discussions with anthropologist Komatsu Kazuhiko about sources of the strange and the mysterious in Japanese folklore. These discussions inspired Aramata to share this knowledge with general readers in the form of fiction. Thus, as a side project, Aramata began work on a fantasy romance that would incorporate lesser known concepts of the occult into recognizable Japanese history. .

The first volume of the novel was released in 1985 by Kadokawa Shoten and became a bestseller, selling over 3.5 million copies in Japan alone . Subsequent additions were made to the main series until it was composed of 10 volumes. The tenth volume was intended to be the final volume, but due to the success of this main series, additional eleventh and twelfth volumes were written, bringing the main series up to a total of 12 volumes. An extra volume was also written, and was intended as a side story (taking place in a contemporary time period). In addition, there were several spin-off series written intended to elaborate on some of the main characters and the plot of the main series.

Awards

• In 1987, the novel won the Nihon SF Taisho Award for best Japanese science fiction/fantasy story .

Legacy

Since the novel's initial publication, the franchise it spawned has achieved popularity in the realm of Japanese pop culture. The novel and subsequent franchise it created is recognized as having ignited a surge of popular interest in onmyoji and oni in the Japanese media. This trend continued with such popular works as Baku Yumemakura's novel Onmyoji (and subsequent film adaptation of the same name) and Natsuhiko Kyogoku's Kyōgokudō (京極堂) series, both of which came in the wake of Teito Monogatari's success. . The publication of Teito Monogatari is listed as a significant event in the history of Japanese fantasy literature in John Clute and John Grant's The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Professor of Human Geography Paul Waley claims that the publication of Teito Monogatari helped educate an entire generation of Japanese readers about Tokyo's former status an Imperial Capital..

The franchise's influence can be felt in a great deal of media to emerge from Japan, such as anime, literature and video games. The story of Teito Monogatari has been adapted into manga, stage productions, two big-budget live-action films, a successful four-part OVA series, and two live-action spin-off productions. Examples of popular works the story has influenced include the Shin Megami Tensei video game series and the manga/anime Tokyo Babylon by Clamp.

Despite success in the East, the novel and franchise it spawned still remain virtually unknown in the West.

Spin-offs

• The Sim-Feng Shui (シム・フースイ, Shimu-Fūsui) series: A multi-volume novel starring Tatsuto Kuroda, the grandson of the feng shui expert Shigemaru Kuroda from the main Teito Monogatari novel, as he struggles with various spiritual disturbances across Japan. The fourth volume of this series was made into a live-action film titled Tokyo Dragon (東京龍, Tōkyō Doragon) in 1997.
• Teito Monogatari Gaiden Karakuri Dōji (帝都物語外伝 機関童子): A spin-off of the main story, set in 1998.
• Teito Gendan (帝都幻談): A prequel to the Teito Monogatari series, set during the Edo period.
• Shin Teito Monogatari (新帝都物語): A follow-up to Teito Gendan, set during the Bakumatsu.
• Teito Monogatari Iroku (帝都物語異録): The "secret origins" of Yasunori Katō. This collection features the writings of a multitude of Japanese authors.
• The Great Yokai War (妖怪大戦争, Yōkai Daisensō): A 2005 horror film by Takashi Miike. Yasunori Katō leads an army of twisted yōkai on an invasion of Tokyo. Was made in cooperation with Hiroshi Aramata and Shigeru Mizuki.

Film Adaptations

In 1987, a cinematic adaptation, covering the plot of the first 1/3rd (the first four volumes) of the novel, was produced by Exe Studios and distributed by Toho Studios. Released in 1988, it became the 8th highest grossing film of the year. The film was eventually distributed to English speaking countries under the title Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. The success of this adaptation prompted the production of two live-action follow-ups: Tokyo: The Last War/Teito Taisen (1989) (loosely based on the eleventh book of the series) and a side story Teito Monogatari Gaiden (1995) (loosely based on Karakuri Dōji, one of the spin-off novels). As of today, no North American release plans have been made for either of the live-action sequels.

There was also a four-part OVA anime produced in 1991 by Madhouse. The anime was adapted to the US by Streamline Pictures in 1995 under the title Doomed Megalopolis.

External links

• Teito Monogatari vol. 1 at Amazon.co.jp
• Toho Kingdom Page: Basic Information on the Teito Monogatari film adaptation and its sequel