Mushi-shi: Volume 8-9-10

by Yuki Urushibara, 710 pages

Mushi are all around us: in the heart of an ancient cedar, under the rocks in a river, in the rain that falls from the sky. Ephemeral, elemental life-forms of infinite variety, mushi are neither good nor evil. Most are also invisible and generally go unnoticed by humans, but wherever the two cross paths, complications can arise. And that's when you want to find Ginko on your doorstep.

Ginko is a mushishi, or mushi master. With his medicine cabinet strapped to his back, he wanders the mountainsides and hamlets of something-like-19th-century Japan, studying the ways of mushi and offering assistance to those whose encounters with them have become problematic.

A woman followed by the rain. A lost child living alone in a parallel existence alongside her mourning family. A little girl replaced by a stranger when she steps on a shadow with no body to cast it. There are as many stories as there are mushi, and Ginko approaches each case with care and thoughtfulness, endeavoring to foster an understanding of mushi as well as help his patients, as they all have to share the same world. Sometimes things work out one way, sometimes another; regardless, nature finds its own balance and the foundational rhythms of life continue.

Urushibara takes her inspiration from folklore and other stories, many of which she heard from her grandmother in her native Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island and a largely agricultural region known for its mountains and wildlife and great store of local legends. Her tales are imaginative and touching, quiet but never boring. Her depictions of the seasons are so believable you feel like you can hear the summer cicadas or could reach in and brush the heavy snow off the thatched roofs. And while most of her characters apart from Ginko look fairly interchangeable, the contrast with her beautiful, lush landscapes and the great variety of uniquely detailed mushi just further supports the universality of their circumstances and puts the mushi and the natural world even more firmly at the center of the series.

I adore Mushi-shi (Or Mushishi. Or Mu Shi Shi. Its official written title appears to be determined by whichever way the wind is blowing.). This 3-in-1 omnibus edition is the final installment in the manga series, which won an Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2003 and the Kodansha Manga of the Year award in 2006. I decided back before I finished volume 1 that I am going to have to buy the whole shebang eventually, which isn't surprising as I broke down and bought the award-winning animé after seeing only a few episodes (Urushibara's otherworldly watercolors brought to life? Too, too lovely.). Just thinking about Mushi-shi lowers my blood pressure.

This is not an action series. This is a find-a-cozy-spot-on-a-muffled-winter-morning-and-commence-with-the-dreaming series. And sometimes, that's just what you need.