The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

can't think of any other name for it."
    Youko nodded.
    "The Kyokai encompasses the land. Beyond the land, the Kyokai goes on forever."
    "Forever?"
    "Forever, with no end in sight. And no end there ever will be, or so we are told. Explorers have sailed off in search of the end of the Kyokai. None have returned."
    "So that means over here the earth really is flat."
    Climbing onto his chair, Rakushun gave Youko a startled look. "But of course it is. Otherwise we'd all be in difficult fix, now, wouldn't we?" There was surprise and laughter in his voice.
    "Well, then, what shape does this world have?"
    Rakushun picked up a walnut and placed it on the table. "In the middle of the world is Suusan. "
    "Suusan?"
    "The Supreme Mountain. It's also called Suukou, the Pinnacle, or Chuuzan, the Middle Mountain. Surrounding Suusan at the four cardinal points of the compass are the Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern Mountains. They are more commonly known as Houzan, the Mountain of Wormwood; Kazan, the Mountain of Splendor; Kakuzan, the Mountain of Immediacy; and Kouzan, the Mountain of Permanence. The story goes that the Eastern Mountain was formerly called Taishan. The ruler of the northern kingdom of Tai changed the spelling of his family name from the character meaning "generations" to the character meaning "peaceful calm," the same as Taishan. In deference to him, Taishan was changed to Houzan. Together they are called Gozan, the Five Mountains."
    "No kidding."
    "Encompassing these five mountains is the Yellow Sea. Though called a sea, it is not a body of water. Rather, it is said to be filled with craggy wastelands and deserts and swamps and an ocean of trees."
    Youko paid close attention to the characters he was writing. "You've never seen it?"
    "There's no way I could. Encircling the Yellow Sea are the four Kongou, the Adamantine Mountains. No mortal being can dwell within them."
    "Oh." It really did look to her like an old map of some ancient world.
    "The Adamantine Mountains are bordered by four seas. To the north, northeast, south, southwest, east, southeast, west, and northwest, eight kingdoms encircle the seas. Beyond them is the Kyokai. Adjacent to these eight kingdoms are four big islands. The four island kingdoms plus the eight kingdoms that surround the Yellow Sea are the Twelve Kingdoms."

    Youko examined the geometric arrangements of walnuts. It looked like a flower, the kingdoms arrayed about the Gozan like petals.
    "And there's nothing else?"
    "Nothing else. Only the Kyokai reaching out to the very end of the world." But, he seemed to say to himself and added, "Tales have been told of an island far away at the eastern edge of the world, fairy tales about a place called the Kingdom of Hourai. Also known as Japan."
    The character he wrote down was Wa, the ancient name for Yamato.
    "Really? The same 'Yamato' as Japan?"
    When she wrote out the character herself, it definitely was Yamato. Youko bit her lip. Was it because of how the language was translated?
    "It's also said that Yamato is where kaikyaku come from."
    This time she clearly heard "Yamato." Because she knew the word as well in her native language, she didn't need it translated for her.
    "It all might be tall tales, but when you listen to what the kaikyaku say, it seems that there is undoubtedly a country called Yamato. Ships have sailed off in search of Yamato. They too have never returned."
    If indeed Japan did exist at the furthest reaches of the Kyokai, it might be possible to reach it by sailing east. But Youko knew the chances of that were slim. The only way home was through the shadow of the moon.
    "There's also a legend that says that deep within the Adamantine Mountains is a place called Kunlun. Beyond Kunlun is China. China is the home of the sankyaku, the visitors ( kyaku ) from across the mountains ( san or zan )." Rakushun wrote down the character for Han to represent China.
    "Sankyaku? You mean there are other people who get tangled up in this place, not just kaikyaku?"
    "That's right. Kaikyaku wash up on the shores of the Kyokai. Sankyaku are found wandering at the foot of the Adamantine Mountains. There aren't a lot of sankyaku in this kingdom, though. Kaikyaku or sankyaku, you've got to run for your life."
    "Figures."
    "Han or Yamato, normal people just can't come and go. Only youma and the mountain wizards can. When there is a shoku, people from over there are caught up in the currents. Those people are the sankyaku and