“For my big sister, Riyo, and the stories we whispered to each other past bedtime.”
—J.P.T.
“To you, whom I want to see again.”
—M.T.
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Tokyo Night Parade. Text copyright © 2023 by Jas Perry. Illustrations copyright © 2023 by Minako Tomigahara. All rights reserved. Manufactured in Italy. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. www.harpercollinschildrens.com. Library of Congress Control Number: 2023934446
ISBN 978-0-06-322496-4. The artist used gouache, woodblock printing, paper scraps, and Photoshop to create the digital illustrations for this book. Typography by Dana Fritts.
Story by J.P. Takahashi Art by Minako Tomigahara
She listens with pointed ears for the strange sounds of the Night Parade. For the music and mumbling, hooting, and screeching. Eka is waiting for her monsters.
It’s been a while since Eka’s come home to Tokyo. But she wouldn’t miss her favorite evening of the year.
“Come out, Eka,” a familiar voice croaks.
Finally! Eka slips off of her futon, slides open the shoji, and sneaks down the spiral staircase.
In the garden, the kappa slithers out of the pond. It walks with slapping steps, leaving wet footprints on the stone path. Eka says hello and the kappa does the same.
“Welcome back,” it says. “You’re right on time.” As it has always done, the kappa offers a slimy, webbed hand.
And leads Eka into the dark.
A gust of wind from enormous gold wings sends Eka stumbling forward. The ground thunders with a giant raiju’s stride. She feels the pitter-patter of paws and claws grow closer. The air is thick with swirling, swooping ghosts.
Eka smiles. The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons has arrived.
“It’s wonderful to see you again.” A round-bellied raccoon drums a taiko.
“Do you like New York?” asks the lion dog trotting beside Eka.
“Yes, I do,” Eka says, “but I wish I could take you all with me.”
The kappa grunts.
“We yokai can only travel the islands of Japan. From Hokkaido to Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. All the way down to Okinawa.”
“I remember,” Eka says.
“The Night Parade can’t cross the ocean.”
It can’t walk the streets of Manhattan. Or go on adventures with Eka and her new friends. It can’t ride the rattling 6 train. Or visit her in the small apartment above Mr. Soto’s bodega.
At school in America, nobody wants to hear about Eka’s y kai back in Japan.
“Demons?”
“That’s creepy.”
“Aren’t they dangerous?”
Eka wonders.
“Kappa-san,” she asks, “are you all good spirits?”
The kappa leans in real close. “Are you all good humans?”
She thinks about this for a moment, but the kappa does not expect an answer.
“After tonight, when will we see you again?” A sharp beak snaps near Eka’s ear as the two-headed pheasant looks at her expectantly.
“I don’t know. Maybe in a year. Maybe in ten. Maybe never again.”
Eka’s heart aches when she imagines next summer. And the one after that.
She tries to forget that this could be her last parade. That New York is expensive and Japan is too far away to keep visiting.
The kappa’s cold hand gives Eka’s a squeeze. Just like it did on the day they met.
It was only five years ago when Eka had first seen the kappa’s glowing eyes peering up at her.
“Why are you hiding?” she had asked. And a bubble rose to the surface and popped.
“Sometimes, we spirits confuse people,” it whispered. “Humans want the easy answers. They ask if I’m honest or wicked. If I’m an animal or a monster. And I’m not sure what to say.”
Eka nodded. “Are you confused?” she said.
Another bubble. Another pop! “No, I’m not.”
“Well,” Eka said. “Maybe there are no easy answers.”
Then Eka’s grandfather had called her inside for lunch. So she bowed goodbye to the kappa.
A gift for Eka was on the table, beside the grilled salmon and crunchy pickles.
“Try it on,” her grandfather said. “It’s all yours.”
Carefully, she unfolded the fabric. The suit was a perfect fit.
And it still is.
Now Eka twitches her ears. She swishes her tail. And bares her fangs in the moonlight. Throwing their heads back, the y kai whoop and shout and carry on.
Their mismatched crowd is an unusual sight. Impossible to describe. But they are here. Together. And this is worth celebrating.
They will walk until sunrise, when Eka must return to her grandfather’s house at the end of the street.
The kappa will sink deep down into the water until next time.
In the morning, Eka’s family will board a plane to America.
But for now, all that matters are Eka and the demons and the glorious racket of the Night Parade.
And tonight, they dance.
The hyakkiyagyo, or the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, is said to walk the streets of Japan on evenings when the human world and the y kai world overlap. Though the Night Parade passes through the old capital city of Kyoto in Japanese folklore, I set this story in Tokyo, where I spent my own childhood.
The term y kai encompasses the supernatural—strange, inexplicable creatures and phenomena, from common animals and household objects to ghosts, monsters, and spirits of all kinds. Perspective informs our characterization of a y kai’s actions as positive or negative, and the figure itself as representative of good, evil, or somewhere in between.
Eka is wearing the costume of a kitsune, a wild fox spirit, known for their clever, mischievous personalities and fierce loyalty.
The kappa is a frog or turtle-like spirit. It dwells in small bodies of water, interacts often with humans, and likes to befriend lonely children.
The Tokyo Night Parade is one of many interpretations of the hyakkiyagy . It was inspired by my experience growing up African American and Japanese in the US and Japan and the common fear among the diaspora of losing loved ones before a return home is possible.
Like Eka, I still hope to visit Tokyo and see my grandfather again one day.
ISBN 978-0-06-322496-4
9780063224964
“This sparkling, Miyazaki-hued story instantly whisked me back to childhood summers in Tokyo, to far-out fables and night festivals, reminding me: the supernatural is often the best doorway to the true.”
—KYO MACLEAR , author of The Big Bath House and Kumo
“An unforgettable story combines with a gorgeously illustrated world, reminding readers that our most magical moments can exist in the here and now.”
