Thursday, August 11, 2011

A Feast for the Eyes

So I've been kind of on an InuYasha hiatus since a friend of mine with whom I watch movies on aweekly basis expressed interest in watching it with me. We're currently watching Spice and Wolf, which I need to dedicate a post (or several) to because it really is wonderful and very unique.
One manga I came across lately, based on a friend's recommendation, is the stunning A Bride's Story- or Otoyomegatari, by Kaoru Mori, a mangaka known for her passion for stories developing in different times and places. Her research and artistic accuracy in portraying Victorian dress and culture in the manga Emma was highly praised. That same meticulousness and attention to detail is evident in this newer manga, which takes place along the "nineteenth-century Silk Road" (near the Caspian Sea).
It's the story of a woman called Amira Halgal. She is 20 years old, part of a semi-nomadic tribe, an expert hunter, equestrian, leather worker, and wild game cook. She is just beautiful. But despite all of this, Amira is considered, in that culture, an old maid, and quite unmarriable. The perception is that too much time has gone by and her chances of being able to provide a husband with many children are highly diminished. She does, however, get married off, and is sent with her dowry, including her horse, over the hills, to travel for four or five days to her groom and his family.

Here's the interesting part. Her husband is Karluk Eihon, the heir apparent to his clan. He is a gentle, quiet,  insightful, and brave person. He is also 12 years old. (This immediately reminded me of Ghengis Khan and his first wife Borte. Borte was betrothed to Khan at a very young age...and she was older than he.)