The Fall of Daigo
Book 3 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Translator's Foreword
Dororo's Past
At the end of the previous novel, Hyakkimaru and Dororo discovered that Daigo Kagemitsu, Hyakkimaru's birth father, was living in Kaga Province. Hyakkimaru manages to reunite with his family, but not before learning Dororo's secret: Dororo pretends to be a boy, but is biologically female. (I use male pronouns for Dororo throughout for the most part, since this is how Dororo sees himself.) Some characters, like Jukai (a doctor) have known this from the very start, but the realization makes Hyakkimaru see Dororo differently for a short time. This subtle change in their relationship causes Dororo to bristle at Hyakkimaru's over-protectiveness, making him risk his life to find out where the Daigo Clan is located in Kaga Province. As a result, Hyakkimaru, Dororo and Jukai all become separated, and Dororo is gravely wounded.
Dororo falls into the lap of his mother--of all people--whom he assumed was dead. His mother, Ochika, also assumed that Dororo had died. They were separated in a blizzard during Dororo's early childhood. Dororo was enslaved until he escaped, and Ochika became the leader of a roving group of bandits after her husband's premature death.
In the original manga, Ochika's name is given as Oujiya, and she was indeed a bandit leader--but she died in the blizzard that separated her from Dororo. Having Oujiya/Ochika be alive has enormous ripples in the novel's plot. Hyakkimaru and Dororo have bandit allies as well as pirate ones when breaking past Daigo Kagemitsu's defenses, and both Dororo and Hyakkimaru gain a large extended support network. Ochika is also presented as a forerunner of the historical religious bandits, the Ikko Ikki, who would one day take over and rule Kaga Province.
Hyakkimaru's Future
Dororo as a work rarely gets a settled ending. The original manga has divergent endings that contradict. The original anime ends with Hyakkimaru's quest not completed and with him separated from Dororo. The new anime also sends Hyakkimaru off on a quest alone, though Dororo and Hyakkimaru are reunited some years later. Out of all the various adaptations, only the movie and the video game have anything like a closed-book ending for this story... and the movie ends with Hyakkimaru setting out wandering again, with Dororo in tow.
I suspect that this story is so difficult to end because it's hard to know what to do with Hyakkimaru after he defeats all the demons. Does he fade into obscurity? Settle down somewhere? What is his purpose now that his body is whole and the demons are dead?
This novel series differs from all other adaptations in that Hyakkimaru never gets his original body parts back. His father sold them, and the demons keep them, even after they die. Physical wholeness was never this Hyakkimaru's quest. His desire is for understanding--answers about his own past. His secondary goal is to fight evil: the Hall of Hell demons are indisputably evil and Hyakkimaru doesn't want anyone to suffer the same way that he suffered.
Hyakkimaru's Birth, the first novel of the series, shows us Hyakkimaru whole: he has limbs, he has sense organs, he can walk and see and fight. Most importantly for the story's themes, Hyakkimaru starts out as a kind, compassionate, complete person thanks to the love and support of his adoptive parents, Jukai and Sakuzō. He never loses the essential core of his own humanity. This Hyakkimaru never goes mad and vents his rage in a killing spree, like so many do. He is human from the very start, and the love of his family and friends is what ultimately makes him whole.
This series is also unique among adaptations because it does end with Hyakkimaru's quest complete. He defeats all the Hall of Hell demons and gets the answers that he's been wanting for his entire life. Only one question remains: what's next?
Evil exists. Demons still exist, too. In this novel, Hyakkimaru discovers secrets about himself that make him want to save others so that they, too, aren't afflicted by a demon's curse. Hyakkimaru's life has been threatened by the Hall of Hell demons for as long as he's been alive; it's finally his turn to fight back.
But not alone. Dororo accompanies Hyakkimaru on his new quest.
Found Families
Hyakkimaru's birth family make their first real appearances in this novel: the proud, vainglorious Daigo Kagemitsu, the grieving Nui no Kata, and the confused and curious Tahōmaru. Hyakkimaru's reappearance throws a wrench in all their lives. Hyakkimaru seeks his own answers and doesn't realize that his family has questions of their own... until later.
More so than other adaptations, Hyakkimaru's family is given mostly altruistic motivations. (Yes, even Daigo Kagemitsu.) Hyakkimaru's reunion with his mother is one of the most touching scenes in the novel, followed closely by his reunion with Tahōmaru in the Hall of Hell after the demons are destroyed. This novel diverges from every other adaptation by leaving the door open for Hyakkimaru's birth family to be part of his life.
The very end of the journey brings the entire extended family that Hyakkimaru has built together in one place. Hyakkimaru, Dororo, Jukai, Ochika, Genkai Namitarō, Tahōmaru and even Daigo Kagemitsu defy the Hall of Hell demons in a fight to the death--and win. It's a win not just for them, but for everyone the demons have killed or cursed over the course of the series.
Reading Resources: Annotations, Glossary, and Timeline
For ease of reading, I have made textual notes on cultural figures and practices that would be common knowledge in Japan, but which Western readers likely have less familiarity with.
In addition, every character, place name, and Japanese word in the text is given an entry in the Glossary at the end of this book. The names of people are usually given in the Japanese style, meaning the surname comes first. Takakage’s full name, for example, is given as Asakura Takakage and not Takakage Asakura.
Time periods such as Chinese dynasties and Japanese periods and eras are provided in the novel's Timeline. Every major story event is also tracked in the Timeline.
This novel was originally published in Japanese on September 20, 2001. I translated it during the COVID-19 pandemic, just as the world was starting to get back to normal (or so we all hope, at any rate). Out of all the extant endings of the Dororo story, the one in this novel is the most hopeful and positive. Hyakkimaru and Dororo have a family and a future. A new quest awaits...but they always have a home to return to. The world is still at war, but that doesn't mean Hyakkimaru and Dororo can't fight evil where they find it.
Ainikki the Archivist
December 2021
Hyakkimaru's family is given mostly altruistic motivations. (Yes, even Daigo Kagemitsu.) <--- and this is why Jinzo canon is best canon. :D
ReplyDeleteThe humans are definitely the most human...that applies to everyone, even the "bad" guys :)
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