Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince

English: Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince (lit. The Swan’s Strange Legend)
Japanese: 白鳥異伝 (Hakuchou Iden)
Chinese: 白鸟异传 (Bainiao Yizhuan)


Official Art (chronological order)

This is the longest installment in the Magatama Trilogy. In some releases, Hakuchou Iden is split into two volumes.

Buy the Book

“Second in the Tales of Magatama, set centuries after the first book, Mirror Sword centers on Toko, the beloved only daughter of the Tachibana clan’s chief and her foster bother Oguna….[D]rawn by unsuspected parentage into the twisted politics of the Imperial family, Oguna finds himself burdened with the godlike power of the Dragon Sword and thrust into a central role in the Emperor’s schemes…. [T]he iron-willed Toko begins a quest that will take her across the empire in search of the [Magatama]. Ogiwara avoids the temptation to write a simple quest story…. The result is a morality tale where faith in external struggle can be misplaced; in the words of the Buddha, peace comes from within. “
— From Publishers Weekly

Read reviews of the translation

Available in English from Haikasoru (an imprint of Viz)
Amazon link

The Story

(based on the Chinese & English synopses): Bold, spirited Tōko has always protected her adopted brother Oguna. But Oguna must leave their village to become the shadow prince, a body-double for the endangered royal. In the imperial city, Oguna masters the destructive Dragon Sword, and his return brings ruin to his and Tōko’s homeland. Escaping from the carnage, Tōko sets off to find the Magatama, the key to controlling the sword’s terrible power. Vengeful and heartbroken, she struggles to understand what happened to the young man who was once like a brother to her. Tōko’s journey brings her self-discovery, unexpected allies, and the tragic truth behind Oguna’s transformation. A story of two parallel quests, of a pure love tried by grievous misunderstanding, this sequel is an epic that exceeds Dragon Sword and Wind Child in both character and scale.

Read an excerpt from the translation

Part I – The Mirror Sword
 Chapter 1: The Promise
Chapter 2: The Shadow Prince
Chapter 3: Treason
Chapter 4: War Damage

Part II – The Misamaru
 Chapter 5: Sugaru
Chapter 6: Newborn
Chapter 7: Bandits

Part III – Where the White Bird Flies
 Chapter 8: Apparition
Chapter 9: Reunion
Chapter 10: The Last Magatama

, Characters, Places, and Items of Note


11 Comments

  1. I’m looking forward to reading this book. Can’t wait to see what the new cover art looks like. Hope the story will be as good as (if not better than) Dragon Sword and Wind Child.

    Updated by nijibug at 3:58:57 PM EST

  2. Hello there. I bought a copy of Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince. Being the second book in the series, I love how Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince made references to characters and events in Dragon Sword and Wind Child. I’m only about halfway through with the book, yet the story has already revealed plenty of unexpected and startling events (which I won’t spoil for those who haven’t read any of the story). Whenever a dramatic moment arises I tend to wander off from the words on the text and imagine “what if” scenarios. Despite how certain things have turned out so far, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a satisfied ending.

    On a different note, have you considered adding a forum to your website?

  3. I’m actually less annoyed about it then when I typed that. Spoilers are a big petpeeve of mine. I will actually continue reading the book (hoping that the revelation that was spoiled isn’t too far off) but I still feel kinda troubled about this. I mean, shouldn’t someone have proofread this thing? It was pretty obvious as soon as you read that word that something’s not right. Anyways, nothing I can do about it now except trying to enjoy the rest of it.

  4. I FINALLY got around to reading this book (which is rather shameful since I was really big into the whole promotion of it before it was published). And I have to say, my emotions were quite mixed while reading. Even though I think the writing/translation was very good, it was hard for me to get through. And it seemed to get more difficult the further I got in.

    Now, in retrospect, I understand why. This story was way over my head. It was a retelling of stories from Japanese folklore. If I had known some of the original tales, things would have had a lot more context. To put this into perspective, it would be like reading a book such as “Wicked” or “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister” without having any previous knowledge of “The Wizard of Oz” or “Cinderella”. Sure, you could read the book and enjoy the writing and story, but there would be no way you could fully comprehend everything that was going on.

    I want to read this book again, but before that, I think I need to do some research.

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