is a historical romance

Historical romance

Historical romance is a subgenre of two literary genres, the romance novel and the historical novel.-Definition:Historical romance is set before World War II...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 by Kaoru Mori

Kaoru Mori

is a Japanese manga artist from Tokyo. She is the creator of popular manga such as Shirley and Emma. Many of her works are set in Britain, centering on characters who are maids...

. It was published by Enterbrain

Enterbrain

is a Japanese magazine publisher established on April 1, 2000. Enterbrain magazines are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan...

 in the magazine fellows! and is so far collected in 2 tankōbon

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

 volumes. The manga is licensed in English in North America by YenPress

Yen Press

Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...

. Volume 1 was released in a hardcover format in May 2011.

Set in Central Asia in a rural town near the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

 during the early 19th century, the story revolves around a young woman, Amira, who arrives from a distant village across the mountains to marry Karluk, a boy 8 years her junior. The story unfolds among details of every-day family and community life. However, the peaceful atmosphere is disturbed when Amira's family demands to take her back to their village.

Eihon Family

Descended from nomads, but for several generations have lived in a village. But they still follow their culture of a patrilocal society, which mean when a man marries, his wife joins him in his father's home or compound, where they raise their children.

The heroine of the story. Twenty years old and Karluk's bride. She stems from a different (semi-nomadic) tribe. She is skilled in archery, horse-riding and hunting. A free-spirited, adventurous woman, she is more open and outgoing in her day-to-day activities compared with the rest of the women in the family, who are noticeably more reserved. Despite the large age gap between her and Karluk, she genuinely loves him. Unknown to Amira, many of the men she encounters look down on her because she is considered old for a new bride, and long past the traditional age when women in the society have started having children.

The male protagonist of the story. He is the youngest son of Akunbek and Sanira. Twelve years old and Amira's husband. He works very hard to be a good traditional husband to Amira, but struggles to form a deeper relationship with her due largely to him being uncomfortable around her stemming mostly from his young age. Karluk is considered an oddity in that he is younger than his bride; traditionally the bride is usually many years younger than the groom. Men often treat Karluk with pity, since they fear that his wife will be too old when he gets mature enough to have children with her.

Karluk's grandfather.

Karluk's grandmother, descended from the same clan as Amira. Reserved and sensible, she serves as a confidant to Amira, due to their shared background.

Karluk's father. Serves as one of the village elders due to his wealth and status. While he is a traditional man, he is also very understanding and is very supportive of Karluk and Amira's marriage.

Karluk's mother.

Yusuf's wife, and Karluk's sister.

Karluk's brother-in-law. Seleke's husband. Married into the family.

Daughter of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's niece. Loves falcons (hawks in the English version).

Eldest son of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's nephew.

Middle son of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's nephew.

Youngest son of Seleke and Yusuf, and Karluk's nephew.

An English traveler and researcher living with the Eihon family. He has been researching the customs, language, and culture of the tribes and peoples. Left the Eihon family to return to England after being warned of rising tensions in the region with the Russians. It is hinted that he might be an English intelligence officer sent to Central Asia as a part of The Great Game with Russia. After leaving the Eihon family, he was captured by the Russian military under suspicion of spying, but was later released with the help of Amira and Karluk.

Eihon Family Relatives

They continue to live a nomadic lifestyle.

Commissioned an ornate scabbard in the city, which Karluk and Amira deliver to him.

Residents of the Town

A young woman who befriends Amira. Daughter of Togo. Introduced in chapter 6. Pariya has always struggled to be a traditional woman in the society, but her habit of speaking her mind regardless of situation creates a lot of uncomfortable situations. Pariya is attracted to Amira's free-spirited nature and the two become good friends. She is very good at baking and skilled at creating extremely elaborate designs in her bread. Taught Amira how to create bread designs.

An old man who raises sheep, and told of wolves living around Soma Lake. Introduced in chapter 1.

Halgal Family

The family Amira was born into. They are nomadic during the summer. Introduced in chapter 4.

Amira's eldest brother, a serious and stoic man.

A cousin of Amira and Azel. Often speaks about food.

Also a cousin of Amira and Azel.

Amira's younger sister. Killed by Numaji.

Also Amira's younger sister, and died after marrying Numaji.

Other

A man notorious for his wealth and brutality.

A young nomadic woman living with her mother-in-law. Introduced in chapter 12. Married into her current family at age sixteen, but in a few years became a widow of its all five sons as per tradition that dictates that a widow with no children marries one of her husband's brothers. Since her father-in-law also passed away, she helps and keeps company to her mother-in-law instead of going back to her own family. She becomes romantically involved with Mr. Smith.

An old nomadic woman. She wishes for Tarasu to have a future with a loving husband and won't accept any marriage offers that would make her daughter-in-law unhappy, including the one from her uncle. She tries to convince Smith to marry Tarasu, but fails. Later marries Tarasu's uncle in order to secure a good match for her.

The brother of Tarasu's father-in-law. A wealthy, agressive man that wants Tarasu to be a second wife for his son. He reports Smith to the town's authorities which leads to Smith's arrest and later marries Tarasu's mother-in-law.

Smith's guide to Ankara. Introduced in chapter 15. He is associated with the local military, which is often takes advantage of, and resourceful, taking advantage of a situation as he sees fit. He is unmarried, but expresses interest in finding a wife when he feels he has obtained sufficient financial stability.

Volume list

Reception

YALSA nominated the first volume for its 2012 "Great Graphic Novels For Teens" list.

Otoyomegatari was second place in the annual japanese manga award "Manga Taishō

Manga Taishō

The is an annual Japanese manga award.-First iteration:In the inaugural edition of the award in 2008, twelve manga were nominated and the winner was Gaku, by Shinichi Ishizuka.*Winner: Gaku, by Shinichi Ishizuka*Nominees:...

" 2011.
She was surpassed by Chika Umino's "3 Gatsu no Lion" by only 20 points.

External links

• コミックナタリー Power Push 乙嫁語り/森薫 official 'behind the scenes' website