Coming to the realization that I didn’t actually know the origins of the Chinese zodiac had a chilling effect on me. Realizing one’s own ignorance can have that effect, but in this case, what I found disturbing was how, in the festive time of the new year, I’d say things like, “It’s the year of the Snake,” or “the year of the Boar,” despite not knowing the origin of what I was saying. Astrology and blood-type divination share a similar distinction. Without knowing the root of these beliefs, we regard them as customs that just somehow sprouted into our shared culture. We accept them as conventional knowledge, but when you think about it, there’s nothing conventional about them, and when you really think about it, it’s really scary. (Although I suppose another way to look at it is that most things work out even if you don’t know their workings.)
Knowledge and common knowledge stand across a divide yet remain compatible with each other. It’s likely that what we think of as the zodiac in the present day is completely different than it was when it was created, and yet we feel no discord—much as the differences between two landscapes don’t stand out unless you directly compare the views. Along those lines, creating an original zodiac from scratch might be fun, but the result would be too incongruous. That said, I think whoever decided to put Rat in the first slot had the right idea.
This novel is the story of twelve fighters who bear the names of the zodiac. Matters are complicated along the way, but leaving those roots aside, at the basic level I depicted fighters who battle because they accept that’s the way things are, without their understanding the reason they fight—if they even have one.
We all have asked ourselves, I’m sure, what we would wish for if we had just one wish. Perhaps when people are asking themselves that, they aren’t asking what they want, but rather they’re asking what they lack. Is not our karma to want what we lack? When someone has something they feel they don’t need, and another person doesn’t have that thing and wants it, that’s the basis of supply and demand. If twelve people were to come together, I feel like they could find a way to barter with each other. I wonder what these twelve could have done to reach that outcome instead. Along those lines, what is your wish?
By the way, the follow-up to this story is included in a manga anthology called Ōgiri. Despite the manga being a follow-up, I actually wrote it first. I would love for you to read that as well. Hikaru Nakamura’s captivating character designs brought this story to my mind and reaffirmed to me the power illustrations contain. One reason I wrote this book was because I hoped that Nakamura Sensei could draw its cover, and I extend my deepest gratitude to her along with the editorial department at Shueisha’s j BOOKS imprint who made this book a reality. Everybody clap your hands!
—NisiOisiN