To say more would be to spoil things, given that this is a sliver of a tale that can be read entirely in twenty minutes or less. The juxtaposition between these piggybacking yokai and the normality with which they are presented is what creates a delightfully eerie and off-kilter atmosphere that seeps through the entire story - though the second half of Tsukiko’s little fairy tale is more about her relationship to a classmate who becomes ostracised by the other kids, as is sadly typical of child behaviour. You must take great care of your relationship with them,’ my mother said.” “’The tengu depend upon you, Tsuki, dear. When she arrives at school, she sees that other students have frightening yokai attached to them, too theirs appeared earlier, but Tsukiko could not see them until hers arrived that morning. Her mother sees them, but sees nothing strange about them. Tengu masks, worn in festivals, are extremely common and even have their own emoji.) The tengu proceed to latch themselves onto the child Tsukiko and follow her everywhere she goes. (Tengu are an infamous part of Japanese Shinto mythology - winged yokai with bright red faces and long noses.
When she emerges, she finds two small tengu bickering. In it, Tsukiko recalls awakening to the sound of arguing. There’s an otherworldly creep to it and yet it very much feels like a modern fairy tale. The story which Tsukiko decides to recount reads like a Junji Ito short story designed for children.
As the story begins, Tsukiko and Sensei are sitting together, all alone in the world, napping in a tatami room, when Sensei takes Tsukiko’s hand and insists that she tell him a story from long ago.Īll she has is a tale from her childhood, which proves to be something far removed from the events, themes, and tone of Strange Weather in Tokyo, which is why Paradecan be enjoyed entirely all on its own. Readers who have not yet enjoyed Strange Weather in Tokyo do not need to Paradeexists as a strange and eerie folk tale that stands so very independently of that original work. Rather than choosing to craft a sequel or a prequel to her most celebrated work, Kawakami has decided, with Parade, to craft something wholly unique.
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