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paperback $16.95
Stone Bridge Press
Paddyfield.com
Powells.com (USA)
More reviews by Todd Shimoda
Readers may purchase reviewed books from Paddyfield.com, Asia's online bookseller.North American readers may prefer to buy US editions from Powells.com.
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Hidden Buddhas by Liza Dalby
Only a few non-Japanese writers can penetrate into deep Japanese culture as well as LIZA DALBY. Her previous works include a first-person account of the lives of geisha, an in-depth historical and symbolic analysis of kimono, and a fictional account of Lady Murasaki, the author of the Japanese eleventh-century novel The Tale of Genji. In her first work of contemporary fiction, she centers the plot of HIDDEN BUDDHAS around the little-known religious icons known as hibutsu or "hidden buddhas." Hibutsu are Buddhist statues imbued with power to protect the world from mappo, an era of chaos which increases until the world ends. For the hibutsu to retain their power, they must remain hidden, except for the rare public viewing. In Dalby's novel, the hibutsu are going dark, in other words, losing their protective power.
Phillip Metcalfe is a doctoral student studying Asian religions. Searching for a dissertation topic that will interest him as well as satisfy his advisor, famous French scholar Bertrand Maigny, Phillip decides on a study of pilgrims visiting the eighty-eight shrines spaced around the Japanese island of Shikoku. Walk the entire route takes two months, although many take a bus all or part of the way. Phillip walks the route and asks the pilgrims questions about their religious beliefs. Along the route, he encounters his first hidden Buddha.
Meanwhile, Nagiko Kiyowara, a young woman in the fashion industry, returns to Japan from New York having lost her job and unexpectedly pregnant. As the novel opens, she is recovering physically and emotionally from an abortion. As part of her recovery, she visits a temple dedicated to "water children," the aborted, stillborn, or infants dying soon after birth. Her dreams of a "water child" begin to haunt her, even after the reassurances of Tokuda, the priest at the temple.
Phillip and Nagiko meet, fall in love, and become engaged. While Phillip continues his research, now focused on the hidden buddhas. He discovers evidence of a pattern. Nagiko gets pregnant again, but before she can tell Phillip, tragedy strikes. Phillip is no longer in her life, but she has the child this time -- a daughter named Mayumi.
The rest of the story revolves around Nagiko and Mayumi and their lives in modern Japan but which are tied inexorably to the past. The legacy of Phillip's research is carried on by his advisor Maigny, the priest Tokuda, and another priest willing to do anything to save the hidden buddhas. All the characters become entwined in the mystery of their destruction.
Dalby tells a highly readable tale of strong characters and an intricate, well-researched plot with more than one twist. She also has taken the book outside the pages with a clever marketing idea. In the novel, Mayumi becomes a fashion designer, famous not only in Japan but also France. Dalby created a virtual presence for Mayumi, giving her a Facebook page and an online boutique (www.mayumimode.com), which sells designer clothes, jewelry, and fragrances.
Todd Shimoda
21/01/2010
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