祭典 (The Festival)

This is Maki Kashimada’s new novel in ten years after the publication of Touring the Land of the Dead. The novel is narrated by an unnamed woman whose memories revolve around her extraordinary friend Anju. Their relationship is intimate, competitive, devotional and erotic. Although they are not biologically related, the narrator thinks of them as “sisters.” At times that word describes friendship; at others, it disguises a desire that neither ordinary friendship nor conventional romance can adequately contain.

The narrative begins in a café called Stella, where the narrator remembers Anju with overwhelming physical intensity. Anju’s body is central from the first pages: her pale skin, abundant hair, sweat, scent and sexual organs are described not as embarrassing details but as part of a sacred landscape. The narrator is especially fascinated by Anju’s body hair. She sees it as animal, feminine, maternal and mythological at once—something like foliage surrounding an altar.

This imagery establishes the novel’s governing method. Christianity, classical mythology, sexuality, food, bodily fluids and female friendship continually flow into one another. A naked body may resemble a saint’s icon; menstruation or sexual secretion may resemble sacramental blood; a meal may become communion; and a religious procession may turn into a carnival of desire.