is the first novel in The Twelve Kingdoms

The Twelve Kingdoms

is a series of light novels by Fuyumi Ono. The first entry in the series was published in Japan in 1991; the last volume was released in 2001. The series was published by Kodansha and contains illustrations by Akihiro Yamada.The Chinese mythology-influenced books were adapted into an animated...

fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 series written by Fuyumi Ono

Fuyumi Ono

is a Japanese novelist who is best known for writing series, on which a popular anime is based. Her name after marriage is , but she writes under her maiden name.- Biography :...

. The Japanese edition split the novel into two volumes, but the English edition combines them into one.

The book narrates the adventures of Yoko after being brought by Keiki to the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. Yoko finds out that she is not a Kaikyaku, an ordinary human who was swept across the sea from Japan to the Twelve Kingdoms, but a Taika - a human who was swept away to Japan from the Twelve Kingdoms before her birth and was then brought back to the Twelve Kingdoms.

The first volume is divided into eight chapters. The epilogue, the Red Book of Kei, retells the politic events between the fall of the King of Kei and Yoko's ascendance to the throne.

The book was published by Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

 on June 20, 1992. The English language edition is published by Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

 under the PopFiction imprint.

Plot introduction

Yoko Nakajima's life had been fairly ordinary until Keiki, a young man with golden hair, tells her that she is his master, and must return to their kingdom. With the help of a magic sword and a magic stone she fights against the demons on her trail. Yoko begins her quest for both survival and self-discovery in her new land.