The House of the Lost on the Cape

By Sachiko Kashiwaba and Yukiko Saito

A 2024 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honoree

A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book

One of Kirkus Reviews’ 10 Essential Middle-Grade Books for Fall 2023 — Starred Review

One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Middle-Grade Family Stories of 2023

A 2023 Cybils Awards Finalist for Speculative Middle Grade Fiction

From the author and translator of the Batchelder Award-winning novel Temple Alley Summer comes the moving story of three generations of women adapting to their new home, and its mythical inhabitants, in the tragic aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake disaster.

In the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Yui, fleeing her violent husband, and Hiyori, a young orphan, are taken in by a strange but kind old lady named Kiwa in the small town of Kitsunezaki​​. The newly formed family finds refuge in a mayoiga, a lost house, perched atop a beautiful cape overlooking the sea. While helping to rebuild Kitsunezaki, the three adapt to their new lives and supernatural new home, slowly healing from their troubled pasts. Kiwa regales Yui and Hiyori with local legends—from the shapeshifting fox-woman who used to roam the mountains, to the demon Agamé and a sea snake who once terrorized the townspeople, preying upon their grief and fears until they trapped the snake and the demon’s claws in an underwater cave.

But when mysterious and sinister events start happening around town, the three fear the worst. Did the earthquake release Agamé and the sea snake into the world again? Kiwa, Yui, and Hiyori join forces with a merry band of kappa river spirits, a bold zashiki warashi house spirit, and flying Jizō guardian statues to save their new family and home and banish Agamé and the snake once and for all. Now a hit anime film, The House of the Lost on the Cape is a heartwarming tale about the strength of family and friendship in the face of natural and mythical forces.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yonder
• Release date: Sep 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781632063380

Sachiko Kashiwaba

Sachiko Kashiwaba is a prolific writer of children’s and young adult fantasy whose career spans more than four decades. Her works have garnered the prestigious Sankei, Shogakukan, and Noma children’s literature awards, and her novel The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist influenced Hayao Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away. Her works have recently been animated as the films The Wonderland and The House of the Lost on the Cape, and her novel Temple Alley Summer, illustrated by Miho Satake and translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, won the American Library Association’s 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. She lives in Morioka, Iwate.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

A Refuge for Three

On March 11, 2011, Yūko of the Spring Sunlight Nursing Home was worried about a new arrival. She was worried about all thirty-two residents of the home, of course, not to mention her own family.

After the terrifying earthquake, the staff at Spring Sunlight had moved all the residents—on stretchers, in wheelchairs, and on the backs of the male staff—to the Kitsunezaki Middle School gym, which stood on high ground. They had to escape the huge tsunami.

Some residents had high blood pressure or heart trouble; others were confined to bed and needed diapers. The staff did not know if they would be able to give the elders their medicine, or even supper.

They found space in the gym and did a head count. Everyone was present, but Yūko barely had time to feel relief before she grew concerned again. What do you think happened to Kiwa Yamana, the woman who was supposed to be admitted today? she asked the director.

Kiwa Yamana came from a small village called Noboto in the Tōno area, which was over a mountain from here. She should have arrived at three p.m. She lived alone and had no family nearby. The nursing homes in Tōno were full, so she had been scheduled to enter Spring Sunlight in Kitsunezaki, which had an opening. Yūko was to have looked after her.

You’re right, that was today, Director Suzuki replied. Surely, with everything that’s happened, she’s put off coming. Phone service is down, so we can’t call to confirm.

The director went off to distribute blankets, as if to emphasize that they had their hands full with the elders already present. Yūko nodded reluctantly. It was cold today. Right now, they had to get everyone warm.

Throughout the night, people continued to arrive at the gym, seeking refuge. With all the fear, worry, cold, darkness, and hunger—not to mention the aftershocks that followed the big quake—no one slept a wink.

The next morning, a hospital in a nearby valley that hadn’t been hit by the tsunami announced that it would take in people who were unwell. Helmeted firefighters arrived with stretchers.

One firefighter carried an elderly woman on his back. Is anyone here from the Spring Sunlight Home? he called.

Yūko stood.

Good! This lovely lady was supposed to enter your facility yesterday, the firefighter said. There was a landslide up on Kosen Pass, and she couldn’t go forward or back. Spent the night in the car. He eased her to the ground.

The small woman carried a small, cloth bundle on her back. She bowed her head toward Yūko. I am Kiwa Yamana, she said formally.

Thank goodness you’re all right! Yūko ran to her.

Kiwa’s white hair was mussed and her face pale. Wearing a lightweight lavender coat for spring, she looked chilled through.

I waited in the welfare office’s car until the sun rose, Kiwa said. I’ve lived a long time, but never have I had a fright like that! If these gentlemen hadn’t come, I don’t know what I would have done. Thank you so much.

She bowed to the firefighter too.

Yūko thought to herself that this new resident would be fine. Many elders had suffered such a shock that they could not speak at all, let alone express their thanks.

Would you like to lie down for a while? Yūko asked after Kiwa had had some water.

Kiwa obediently lay down on the floor, using her bundle as a pillow. Curled up in a blanket, she fell right to sleep.

Just after noon, Yūko’s husband came in looking for her. He confirmed that the children, Grandma, and Grandpa were all fine. They were sheltering in a preschool nearby.

For the first time since the earthquake, Yūko shed tears.

Her husband left again to check on relatives. Turning to see him off, Yūko noticed that a resident of the nursing home was trying to stand up. Someone was lending a shoulder in support. Who could that be? she wondered. It wasn’t a staff member. She jogged over.

Kichizō-san, do you need the toilet? she asked. Thank you so much, I can take him from here, she said, addressing the person helping. It was Kiwa Yamana.

Ah, it’s you! Yūko’s eyes grew wide.

Kiwa’s white hair had been swept into a bun on top of her head. She was wearing a smock with a floral design. Perhaps because of that, or because she had rested, she seemed full of energy, her eyes sparkling. She looked like a different person from the one Yūko had met this morning.

If I can do anything to help, you just let me know, Kiwa said, smiling.

When members of the Self-Defense Force came in, everyone in the gym heaved a sigh of relief. Help had arrived! They began distributing food.

Yūko bustled about, tending to her charges. As she did so, she found herself looking around for Kiwa and saw that she was helping with this and that, keeping as busy as the staff.

Kiwa-san, you’ll tire yourself out! Please rest, Yūko said at one point, having her sit.

A baby in a young mother’s arms began to cry, wanting to nurse. But the baby’s older sister, about two years old, wouldn’t budge from her mother’s lap. The baby wailed and wailed.

Misaki-chan? The baby’s hungry. Want to come see Obāchan for a while? Kiwa scooted nearby and held out her arms. She had learned the toddler’s name already! Little Misaki looked anxious, but hearing her name, she left her mother and timidly crawled onto Kiwa’s lap.

What a good girl. Oh, what a good big sister! Kiwa hugged her.

Obāchan? Granny? Yūko thought back to when she had read Kiwa’s records. She recalled thinking that Kiwa was the same age as Kichizō, so she must be eighty-seven. White hair aside, she could pass for someone in her seventies, or even her sixties.

---

On the same day, Yurie stepped off the train at a lonely station called Kitsunezaki. She couldn’t help following the two people who had ridden in the same car as her.

On the train, she had been gazing out at the gray sky, which was growing specked with snow and seemed to merge with the dark ocean. Her spirits had sunk through the floor. She had come all the way out here, but now what should she do? She was too upset to decide.

At Tokyo Station, she had checked the train schedules and wondered if she should head north or south. Her hometown was to the south, but she might be discovered quite quickly there. She needed to go someplace where no one would think to look for her.

Yurie was fleeing her violent husband.

The train car was almost empty. Yurie was the only passenger in a box of four facing seats. Two people sat in the box across from her, on the side of the train looking out on the mountains. Over the low groans of the train, Yurie couldn’t help overhearing their conversation.

Moeka-chan, have you ever met your uncle’s family?

So they weren’t parent and child, as Yurie had thought. The middle-aged woman was speaking to the girl of nine or ten, who sat staring out the window. She shook her head of silky hair.

This will be your first time in Kitsunezaki, then.

The girl named Moeka nodded, her eyes dark.

Kitsunezaki is right on the sea. I bet the fish will be delicious! I’ve made us arrive at the wrong time, so we’ll have to wait a while before your uncle comes. When we get off at the station, let’s go eat something. I’m sorry I didn’t manage to buy us some bento lunches.

Seeing the woman apologize as she checked her watch, Yurie realized that she had not eaten lunch herself.

Weren’t you taking ballet classes? the woman said. I hope you can find a class in Kitsunezaki.

Moeka nodded again.

Yurie realized she hadn’t yet heard the girl’s voice.

Something had happened to Moeka that meant she was now on her way to live with her uncle’s family, whom she had never met. When Moeka and the woman had learned that they would arrive at the station early today, they had not chosen to contact the uncle and inconvenience him. That could mean that he and his family weren’t exactly close to Moeka.

Yurie was having trouble tearing her thoughts away from Moeka’s situation. When Yurie herself had been about the same age as Moeka, her mother had died, and she had been taken in by a father she didn’t know because he had divorced her mother soon after she was born. Her stepmother and younger stepbrothers had been good to her, but she had always felt like a visitor in their home.

Yurie had longed for a home of her own. She had wanted this so badly that for years, she had been afraid to leave her husband, though she was miserable.

You two don’t have any children. You can go your separate ways—start a new life!

Yurie’s mother-in-law had tried to protect Yurie, even taking her son’s blows herself. She had been unfailingly kind, and Yurie had felt she couldn’t simply leave her and go off somewhere.

But then her mother-in-law had died. The morning the funeral rites ended, something had snapped inside Yurie, and she had left for good.

An announcement flowed through the loudspeakers. Apparently, the train was nearing a station. Seeing Moeka shoulder her backpack, Yurie also grabbed her bag. She was on a journey with no fixed destination, after all.

Her concern for Moeka was nudging her to take a little side trip.

She wanted to see what kind of uncle would be coming to meet Moeka. And though she knew she would be in no position to say goodbye to the girl, she wanted to see her off when she rode away in her uncle’s car. May he be kind, Yurie thought, as if praying.

The station was called Kitsunezaki, Fox’s Point. Besides Yurie and the other two, seven or eight people got off the train. They all climbed into cars parked at the station or strode away briskly. Soon, the three were the only ones who remained at the station, as a light snow fell in the chilly air.

A deserted shopping street led away from the station, down a gentle slope toward the sea. Moeka and the woman walked into a small eatery called the Seashore Diner, so Yurie parted the half-curtains at the entrance and went in too.

They all ordered the sea-urchin-topped ramen, and upon finishing hers at the table next to Moeka and the woman, Yurie smiled and ventured to say, That had green shiso leaves in it, didn’t it? Delicious!

Just then, the earthquake struck.

Screaming, they dove under the tables. Glass from the windows smashed to the floor, shards of it bouncing their way. They covered their heads and curled into balls.

When the shaking finally stopped, they inched out from beneath the tables. None of them had experienced a quake of this magnitude before. They could hear groaning from the kitchen.

Since it was well after two, they were the only customers in the diner. Stepping over a television, which had crashed to the ground, as well as fluorescent lights from the ceiling and manga volumes that had tumbled off the bookshelf, they peered into the kitchen. The cook was pinned beneath a heavy shelf of dishes that had tipped over.

They couldn’t call for help—their phones didn’t work.

Surely, the three of us can make do. The woman put her hand to the shelf, and it moved a little.

No sooner had they managed to pull the cook from under the shelf and breathe a sigh of relief than a siren began to blare. They heard an announcement: A tsunami is coming! Move to high ground.

Yurie and the two other travelers didn’t comprehend at first. But the cook turned white as a sheet.

"We have to go now! The train platform is the highest spot nearby!"

They raced out of the diner, the limping cook leading them.

The main roads to the station were jammed with cars. People from