by Rinko Kageyama is more than a collection of tales; it is an invitation to explore the hidden corners of Yaezujima, to experience the island's magic firsthand, and to reflect on the profound connections that exist between our world and the realms beyond. For those drawn to the mystical, the mysterious, and the downright bizarre, En offers a journey into the heart of Japanese folklore, a journey that promises to leave one changed, carrying with them the whispers of Yaezujima long after the tales have faded into memory.
She took the red cord and tied it around her own throat — not her finger. An En requires a knot. She did not bind herself to him. She bound him to her.
Matsumura passed away three weeks after the interview. His copy of "The Dusty Register" disappeared from his study.
Curious Tales of Yaezujima, Rinko, Kageyama’s En is not a book you read so much as one you unravel. Set against the fog-draped, fictional isle of Yaezujima—somewhere between folklore and modernity—this interlinked trio of narratives (centered on a shrine maiden, a missing archivist, and a mysterious walled garden called “En”) defies easy genre classification. Part ghost story, part metafictional detective yarn, part ecological elegy, it demands patience but rewards it handsomely.