is a Japanese

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novel written by

Ken'ichi Sakemi is a Japanese writer, whose works have been adapted into other formats, including films, manga, and anime. Life and career Sakemi was born in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. In 1988, In 1988 he graduated from Aichi University, Faculty of Letters, ...

, published in 1989. It was Sakemi's first novel and was released in two forms:

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

and

bunkobon In Japan, are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space saving. The great majority of ''bunkobon'' are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually ...

. The novel won the 1st

Japan Fantasy Novel Award The is an annual award which began in 1989 and is sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun and Shimizu Corporation with the backing of publisher Shinchōsha. The winner gets a contract to have their unpublished work published by Shinchōsha and receives ¥ ...

in 1989, and was adapted into the 1990

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

under the title ''

Like the Clouds, Like the Wind is a Japanese anime television film produced by Studio Pierrot. An adaptation of the 1989 novel '' Kōkyū Shōsetsu'' by Ken'ichi Sakemi. It was broadcast on the Nippon Television Network System on March 21, 1990 (Vernal Equinox Day). Pr ...

''.

Plot

Set in a fictional country reminiscent of early 17th century China, the novel depicts the bizarre fate of Ginga, a young girl who volunteers to be a candidate for the new emperor's queen. In the first year of the Kai calendar, candidates for the position of queen were gathered from all over the country to the inner palace of the new emperor of the Sokan Empire, who succeeded his predecessor who had died during sex. Ginga, a 14-year-old country girl from Oda Prefecture, thought the inner palace would be a fun place to study and have three meals and a nap, so she volunteered to be a candidate for queen. She was successful in her bid to enter the palace. Fearless Ginga achieved excellent grades in eccentric lectures at the women's university, and succeeded in obtaining the throne of the lawful wife. However, at the most inopportune moment, a rebel uprising broke out, and Ginga was forced to organize an inner palace unit to fight the rebels.

Publications

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

(

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: ''Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), ...

, March 5, 1989) - *

Bunkobon In Japan, are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space saving. The great majority of ''bunkobon'' are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually ...

(Shincho Bunko, April 25, 1993) -

Adaptations

Anime

It was adapted into an anime television film and broadcast on the

Nippon Television Network System Nippon Television Network System (; NNS) is a Japanese television network organized by The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings through its subsidiary NTV. NTV feeds entertainment and other non-news programming over NNS to 29 affiliated stations. Distrib ...

on March 21, 1990.

References

External links

Kōkyū Shōsetsu (Shinchosha)
{{in lang, ja 1989 books Japanese fantasy novels Japanese historical novels Japanese romance novels Novels set in fictional countries Works set in fictional countries Shinchosha books