"The Inner Palace Novel"—A Story of Girls Born from the Institutions of a Fictional Kingdom
*This article examines how "The Inner Palace Novel" uses "institutions" and "pseudo-history" to establish its worldview.
"The Inner Palace Novel"
By Kenichi Sakemi
Shinchosha Bunko
Kenichi Sakemi's "The Inner Palace Novel" is a work set in the fictional kingdom of "Sokan," which combines the lighthearted stories of young girls with a unique sense of reality where the institution of the inner palace dictates their fates.
Why does the world feel so rich and fully realized, despite the absence of magic or supernatural powers?
The reason lies in the author's thorough construction of the story's world as "pseudo-history."
The technique of pseudo-history is the most powerful way to make a fantasy world appear "as if it actually existed."
In "The Inner Palace Novel,"
1. The existence of multiple historical records
2. Narrators with different perspectives
3. Cultural blending—these three devices give the world depth.
For example, the three historical records placed at the beginning of the story—the "Sokan-sho," "Kan-shi," and "Sokan-tsugan"—present different viewpoints, such as official history and general history, bringing the
structure of the real world, where "history has multiple narrators,"
directly into the narrative.
Furthermore, the customs of the Sokan kingdom are depicted as a blend of dynastic Chinese culture and Western Regions culture.
When cultures mix,
traces of past interactions and conflicts inevitably emerge.
Readers unconsciously imagine the history behind them, and
feel as if "layers of time" have accumulated in this fictional kingdom.
When I was in high school, I was so captivated by the strangely realistic dating—"in the modern calendar, this would be 1607"—and the depiction of this cultural blending that I seriously imagined that the Sokan kingdom might have actually existed somewhere in the Ordos region.
With the author's observations and folklore layered upon these accumulations of pseudo-history, the story takes on an overwhelming reality, as if one were reading the "history of a kingdom that actually existed in the 17th century." In short, "The Inner Palace Novel" is a work that taught me
that a well-crafted pseudo-history can become fantasy in its own right,
and that fantasy is a "literature of the imagination" that can exist even without magic.
1. Synopsis of “The Story of the Inner Palace”
The story begins with the sudden passing of the “Emperor” of the “Sukan Kingdom,” leading to the accession of a new “Emperor.”
To prepare a new “Inner Palace” for the seventeen-year-old new Emperor, a nationwide “recruitment of palace maids” is held.
Ginga, a thirteen-year-old girl living in a remote village, enters the palace out of curiosity,
wondering, “I wonder if it’s true that you can live a good life if you become a palace maid.”
Ginga, who has no ambition but is proactive and has a refreshing personality, becomes close with the girls who share her room at the “Inner Palace” “Women’s University.”
One is the cool beauty Koyo (who possesses a brilliant mind but has a super laid-back personality),
and the other is the fashionable Seshamin (a high-minded young lady who is somewhat scatterbrained but has a lovable personality).
And then,
“After mastering the eccentric lectures at the university, (Ginga) brilliantly wins the position of the Empress.
However, at an unfortunate time, a rebel uprising breaks out,
and Ginga is forced to organize the Inner Palace army to confront the rebels...
Well, what will be Ginga’s fate?” is the premise.
2. Differences between the novel and the animated work
There is an animated work that boldly cuts the details of this novel and changes the personalities of two of the main characters.
It was titled “Like the Clouds, Like the Wind” and was broadcast on television in 1990.
As the title suggests, it is a work that is both refreshing and filled with melancholy.
While the tragic elements are borne by
the new Emperor Koryun (who is intelligent but is hindered by conspiracies within the Inner Palace, making it difficult for him to get involved in national politics),
Ginga and the other characters are basically depicted in a comical atmosphere,
and the story progresses at a good tempo.
It is probably the most successful of Sakemi’s works to be adapted into other media.
Comparing the two works in this way reveals the differences between the characteristics of animation and the novel.
As the title “The Story of the Inner Palace” suggests, Sakemi’s novel has the unique system of the “Inner Palace” of the “Sukan Kingdom” as the core of the story.
The explanation of the history of the “Women’s University” in the “Inner Palace” of the “Sukan Kingdom”
is not dramatic.
While it is interesting to read in the novel (as if reading a history book),
the creators of the animation may have thought that it would feel circuitous
and make the story drag.
Novels allow for the “pleasure of explanation,” but anime prioritizes the “pleasure of tempo”.
In fact,
if you have the template of a “Chinese-style court in the dynastic era,”
images such as “court conspiracies” and “the splendor and cruelty of the Ooku”
are already formed among the audience,
so detailed explanations about the “Inner Palace” are unnecessary, and the story can proceed briskly.
3. The charm of the novel’s world
Nevertheless, as the title “The Story of the Inner Palace” suggests,
the charm of this novel lies in the “Inner Palace,” which houses a “Women’s University” with a pedantic mood that blossomed in the fictional kingdom of the “Sukan Kingdom.”
Just as the fictional monastery in the novel “The Name of the Rose”
still radiated charm as a “hall of knowledge” even while its internal moral concepts were becoming distorted,
the “Inner Palace” of the “Sukan Kingdom” also has knowledge of philosophy, nutrition, medicine, physiology, and the like shining brightly amidst the rampant distorted moral concepts.
4. The “Inner Palace” system itself is another protagonist of this novel
“The Story of the Inner Palace” is the story of the thrilling heroine Ginga, but
on the other hand, there is the shadow protagonist Kikkyo, who tries to satisfy his own ambitions by abusing the “Inner Palace” system of the “Sukan Kingdom.”
Kikkyo (one of the teachers at the “Women’s University.” He has a brilliant mind, but only ambition and selfishness. He is good-looking and skilled at manipulating romantic feelings) and
his lover, Empress Qin (the consort of the previous Emperor. She is the half-sister of Koryun),
embody the ugliness of the “Inner Palace.”
And if you look at Tamyun (Koryun’s older sister, who was raised in the “Inner Palace” and thinks only of satisfying her own desires, and who will stop at nothing to achieve them), the distortion of the “Inner Palace” of the “Sukan Kingdom,” which cannot stop them, becomes clear.
The characters in “The Story of the Inner Palace” arenot just characters, but
embody the “structural roles” of the system of the Inner Palace.
Ginga = Protagonist of “lightness” (an existence that relativizes the weight of the system)
Koyo = “Shadow of intelligence” (reason that functions quietly within the system)
Seshamin = “Buffer of splendor” (a role that eases the tension of the system)
Koryun = “Symbol of tragedy” (an existence hindered and blocked by the system)
Kikkyo = “Enemy embodying the distortion of the system” (symbolizing the corruption of the system)
Empress Qin = “Symbol of the old regime” (an existence showing the rigidity of the system)
Tamyun = “Victim of the system” (a crystallization of the tragedy created by the system)
This character configuration itself visualizes the “light, shadow, tragedy, and distortion” of the Inner Palace system.
The system directs the fate of the characters, and
the characters reflect the essence of the system back—
that interaction is what drives the story of "The Story of the Inner Palace."
To begin with, the "Inner Palace" of the "Sokan Kingdom" is built on the concept that the Emperor is the state itself.
The "Inner Palace" is an organization that fulfills the roles of:
1) providing a fulfilling home life for the Emperor, and
2) ensuring the succession to the next generation of Emperors.
For this reason, they select outstanding women from every region and every class in the country (which is why a certain level of education is required, though in reality, it is a matter of the Emperor's preference).
This form of "Inner Palace" might not be particularly unusual, but the "Sokan Kingdom" has its own special circumstances.
It is that the country is of a scale where such a way of thinking can be thoroughly implemented.
If it were too large, there would be too many people and groups belonging to the upper classes for the "Inner Palace" to have that much influence,
and if it were too small, there would not be enough resources to put that much energy into establishing an "Inner Palace."
The "Sokan Kingdom" was a country of a moderate size where the idea that the Emperor (and the "Inner Palace" behind him) equals the state itself could be thoroughly implemented.
And, if the Emperor were a fool, it would be difficult to properly manage the "Inner Palace."
The father of En Soju was a foolish Emperor.
If there is even one person like Kiku Kyo,
the "Inner Palace" can decay all too easily...
5. And time is also a protagonist of this novel
This story of a fictional kingdom has a lingering resonance precisely because
the author depicts it strictly as "historical fact."
The further protagonist of this story is time.
The irresistible flow of time, the "extinction" of the Imperial family and the "Sokan Kingdom," the passing of generations...
The "sadness" found in this novel
is evoked precisely because of the author's device of saying, "This is a historical tale."
In-text anime image: From the "Like the Clouds, Like the Wind" Blu-ray jacket ©VAP
▶Into the depths of subculture
The systems of a fictional kingdom influence individual fates—
this theme also resonates with Stendhal's "The Red and the Black."
Click here for the series that deciphers how Julien, a young man filled with ambition and passion, faced the "system" within the class society of Restoration-era France.