Kamizen: Fortress of Lost Memories
William Yamaguchi Dobson, illustrated by Sawa
Scholastic

Stuck at home for the summer, twelve year old Jonty is more than ready for adventure when one Friday afternoon he encounters a bonobo in the woods near his Grandpa’s house. She asks him to give her a massage and introduces herself as Koku. She goes on to tell Jonty that she’s a satori and can read human’s minds; therefore she knows that his grandfather has dementia. “Your grandfather has forgotten many memories. You want to recover them, and help him finish his memoir before the sun sets on his life. Therefore gird your loins, fall seven times and get up eight.” she says. ‘I am here to escort you to the realm of lost memories. You have the chance to explore your grandfather’s memories from inside him mind. That’s if you so choose.” In other words he will enter a magical world behind a Japanese Memory gate. It’s there, Jonty must collect lost memories from the time when Gramps was a famous primatologist. Thus begins the boy’s adventure.

Along with Jonty, readers are introduced to a fascinating cast of magical creatures, some eerie, others evil, some cute and all memorable to encounter,

especially for those like myself who know very little about Japanese mythology.

With themes of family, love and courage, this unforgettable, pacy tale is poignant and superbly imagined, with the subject of dementia in older people well presented. Also splendid are Sawa’s black and white illustrations; they really help bring the mythological characters to life. I couldn’t put the book down, reading the longish first part in a sitting and saving the rest as something to look forward to the following day.