The Sword of Kaigen

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-16

Chapters 17-21

Chapters 22-26

Chapters 27-31

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Authorial Context: M. L. Wang

M. L. Wang is a Chinese American author and martial artist who lives a secluded life in Wisconsin. She has self-published several works, including a young-adult fantasy series called The Volta Academy Chronicles (2023). The Sword of Kaigen (2019) is associated with her Theonite series, and it gave rise to several special edition reprints. Wang’s background in martial arts is integral to the plots of both Sword of Kaigen and The Volta Academy Chronicles.

In a 2019 interview, M. L. Wang discusses drawing upon her Chinese heritage in the creation of The Sword of Kaigen, as her family originated from the region of China that Japanese military forces conquered during World War II. Thus, her family history conflicts with her love for modern Japanese culture. Additionally, her experiences as a biracial child in white-dominated spaces inspired her to flip the pattern of history in her Theonite series, in which “‘Europeans’ (Hadeans) have been colonized by ‘West Africans’ (Yammankalu). (Stewart, David. “Interview with M. L. Wang.” Fantasy Book Critic, 11 Dec. 2019). She also explains that “[i]n The Sword of Kaigen, the ‘Chinese’ (Ranganese) do some genocide in a ‘Japan’ (Shirojima, Kaigen) ruled by an Imperial ‘Korea’ (Jungsan, Kaigen)” (“Interview with M. L. Wang”).

The Theonite series combines science fiction and fantasy elements with the cultural influences of Chinese and Japanese culture. Wang self-published the first two novels of the series, Planet Adyn (2016) and Orbit (2017), with plans to publish a third novel, City of Ghosts, in 2019. However, following the sudden success of Sword of Kaigen, a standalone prequel, Wang announced that the Theonite series would no longer be developed, and she canceled plans to write additional installments other than Wings of Yamma (2020), a short story set in the same world.

Cultural Context: Feudal-Era Japan

The Sword of Kaigen borrows heavily from Japanese culture. In the Theonite series, the region known as Shirojima strongly resembles the mountainous regions of northern Japan. Likewise, the warrior houses of Shirojima are inspired by the ancient samurai ruling houses of feudal-era Japan, which were prominent from the 14th through the 16th centuries. This period involved constant conflict between regional feudal lords from various samurai families who owned the surrounding lands and were responsible for employing and protecting their vassals, farmers, and other residents. These samurai families functioned under a strict code of conduct called Bushido, which dictated the rules of combat and the ruling class’s moral and legal duties, as well as their class and gender roles. During this time, society was strictly patriarchal. Women were expected to remain within the domestic sphere and often had little power in their own houses or society.

Sword of Kaigen also draws on other aspects of Japanese history, such as the Japanese conquest of Korea in the late 1500s. As previously stated, Wang deliberately reverses this conquest dynamic so that the Kaigenese (who are modeled after the Koreans) conquer and annex Shirojima (which is modeled after Japan). Additionally, the novel’s fictional religion of Ryuhon Falleya parallels the arrival of Buddhism in Japan, as this philosophy was eventually combined with elements of the native Shinto religion to create the distinctly Japanese form of Zen Buddhism.