Takaoka's Travels

April 1, 2024
Prince Takaoka, who renounced the world to become a Buddhist as a young man, has been inspired by the idea of Hindustan since his father's consort Kusuko first spoke of it to him in early childhood. After more than 40 years as a priest, he asked for, and received, permission to enter the Tang empire. From Guangzhou, he could at last travel south, making his way to Hindustan with his companions, the monks Anten and Engaku. His entourage gains a fourth member just as they are about to set sail--a child, just escaped from slavery, whom Takaoka calls Akimaru. The journey begins with our travelers adrift at sea, with no wind to take them anywhere; fortunately, this doesn't last, and a storm picks up, carrying them much further south than they'd intended. From here, the group encounters impossible creatures, fantastic dream worlds, and things that seem to echo events long past--with some references to other well-known travelers of both their past and future. Originally published in 1987, freshly translated into English, this novel presents a lush and fabulous journey into the unknown.

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Starred review from April 1, 2024

Shibusawa (1928-87), an expert on the Marquis de Sade and the French surrealists, wrote only this one novel in his lifetime, depicting a world where the usual rules have been upended. It won Japan's Yomiuri Prize in 1987 and has since become a touchstone of Japanese counterculture. In the ninth century, a Japanese prince-turned-monk sets off with companions on a journey to Hindustan (India), the center of Buddhism. As the journey continues, reality implodes. An enslaved woman captivates a dugong, and the animal subsequently joins the journey on land but falls ill. Dying, it thanks them for taking it along. The animal reappears later near Sinhala (Sri Lanka) and greets the travelers again. There's also a talking anteater that leads the group to a giant anthill in which a green stone is embedded; the stone turns out to be a bird, waiting to be freed. The travelers are also attacked at sea by a ghost ship, so the prince swallows his treasured pearl to prevent the ship's wraiths from stealing it and passes out. When he wakes, the pearl is stuck so far down his throat he cannot eat. He's dying and so retreats to the jungle for tigers to eat him and carry his body inside them on their swim to Hindustan. All this makes for a striking tale that resembles Italo Calvino's justly praised Invisible Cities without cloning it. VERDICT An arresting novel that readers will cherish.--David Keymer

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