Letters from the Black Castle

To: Emma Davis

April 7th

Dear Emma,

Konnichiwa! My English teacher, Tanaka-sensei, said we should write to an overseas pen pal to practice. She gave me your name. I hope that’s okay.

My name is Suzuki Kiko. I’m twelve years old, and I live in Matsumoto City, in the mountains of Nagano. We’re famous for soba noodles, wasabi, and… a castle. Not just any castle. Matsumoto Castle. People call it “Karasu-jo.” The Crow Castle. Because it’s black as a crow’s feathers.

My apartment is in a modern building, but from my bedroom window, I can see its curved black roofs and the white moji-kabe plaster walls. It looks like a huge, quiet bird that’s just landed and is about to spread its wings. At night, with the lights on, it looks like it’s floating.

My dad is a bus driver for the city loop line—the one that takes all the tourists to the castle. My mom works at a wasabi farm. My little brother, Ren (he’s seven and a total pain), only cares about baseball and collecting weird beetles.

I don’t know what to write about. My life isn’t that interesting. I go to school. I come home. I do homework. Sometimes I draw. I like drawing buildings, especially the castle. I’ve drawn it about a hundred times from every angle.

What’s it like in Portland? Do you have a famous building you can see from your window?

Please write back!

Your new pen pal,
Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

April 28th

Dear Kiko,

Hi! I was so excited to get your letter! My teacher told me about the pen pal program too. I’m Emma, I’m eleven, and I live with my mom and my dog, Waffles (he’s a golden retriever and he drools a lot).

Portland has some cool buildings, but nothing like a castle! We have a huge bookstore that takes up a whole city block, and lots of bridges. From my window, I can see the tops of some skyscrapers, but they’re just glass and steel. They don’t look like they could fly away.

A black castle sounds amazing and maybe a little spooky. Does it feel haunted? Have you ever been inside? Your drawings sound cool. Do you want to be an artist when you grow up?

Here, we just finished spring break. I went camping with my mom and Waffles in the Columbia River Gorge. It was muddy, but fun. What do you do for fun?

Your pen pal,
Emma

P.S. Your English is way better than my Japanese! I only know “konnichiwa” and “arigato.”

To: Emma Davis

May 15th

Dear Emma,

Thanks for your letter! It made me laugh about Waffles. Ren drools sometimes too, especially when he’s asleep. I wish I had a dog.

You asked if the castle is haunted. Some people say it is. They talk about a ghost called Taro, a servant boy who loved the castle. I don’t know if I believe it. It feels… watchful, not scary. Like it’s seen so much history, it’s just tired.

And yes, I’ve been inside! A million times. It’s my favorite place. School trips, with my parents, sometimes I even go by myself after cram school if I need to think. It’s not like the castles in European fairy tales. Inside, it’s all wood and steep, steep staircases that are more like ladders. The wood is dark and smooth from hundreds of years of people touching it. The windows are small, for archers to shoot from. When you stand on the top floor, the sixth floor, you can see the entire city surrounded by mountains. On clear days, you can see the Japanese Alps, white with snow.

Being inside makes me feel small, but in a good way. Like I’m part of a very long story.

Do I want to be an artist? Not exactly. I want to be a kenchikuka—an architect. I want to design buildings that make people feel something, the way the castle makes me feel. Strong. Protected. Part of history. My parents think it’s a good, solid job. But my guidance counselor says I need to be better at math. I’m trying, but numbers get jumbled in my head.

For fun… I draw. I read manga (my favorite is about a girl who is a shrine carpenter). I go for walks around the castle grounds. It has a big moat with huge, colorful koi fish. Sometimes I imagine what the grounds looked like 400 years ago, with samurai walking around.

What’s your dream job?

Your friend,
Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

June 3rd

Dear Kiko,

An architect! That’s so cool. I think I want to be a veterinarian, because of Waffles, but I also really like baking. Maybe I’ll be a vet who bakes dog treats.

Your castle sounds incredible. I looked it up online and saw pictures. It IS really black! And it does look like it’s on the water. Is the moat real? Do people really have to climb ladders to get upstairs? That seems dangerous for samurai in armor!

You said you go there to think. What do you think about?

Things here are good. School is okay. I have a science project on clouds that I’m behind on. Waffles ate my first set of notes.

Write soon!
Emma

To: Emma Davis

June 30th

Dear Emma,

The moat is very real! And very deep. They say the castle was built on a swamp to make it harder for enemies to attack. The “ladders” are the staircases—they’re so steep you have to use your hands. Samurai were probably really fit!

What do I think about? Everything. School. The future. My friends. My family. Sometimes I think about how the castle was built without nails, just wood joining together perfectly. All that cleverness and craft, holding up this huge, beautiful thing for centuries. It’s like magic, but it’s not magic—it’s skill. I want to have a skill like that.

Something… kind of big happened yesterday. There was a poster at school for a junior architecture design contest for all of Nagano prefecture. The theme is “A Community Space for the Future.” The winner gets a trophy and their design is displayed at the prefectural museum for a month. My art teacher, Yoshioka-sensei, saw me looking at it and said, “You should enter, Kiko. You have the eye.”

I got so nervous my hands got sweaty. A prefectural contest. Kids from all over Nagano, including from big schools in Nagano City. But then I went to the castle after school. I sat by the moat and watched the koi. I thought about the builders who made the castle without any modern tools. They probably had doubts, too, right?

I took out my sketchbook. I started drawing an idea I’ve had forever—a modern community library, but built using the same joining principles as the castle. No nails, just wood locking together. With a roof that curves up at the corners like a castle roof, so it looks like a friendly, welcoming bird. A place for stories, old and new, to live together.

I’m going to enter. It’s terrifying. Don’t tell anyone.

Your friend,
Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

July 20th

Dear Kiko,

THAT IS AMAZING! I’m not telling anyone (except Waffles, but he can’t talk). You HAVE to enter. Your library idea sounds perfect. A castle for books! Please, please send me a picture of your drawing when it’s done? I want to see.

I believe in you. If anyone can do it, it’s the girl who knows a castle’s soul.

Go for it!
Emma

To: Emma Davis

August 10th

Dear Emma,

It’s summer break! And it’s so hot and humid here—they call it the “steam bath.” But the castle looks amazing against the bright blue sky and the green mountains.

I’ve been working on my contest entry every day. I have the main sketch done. I’m calling it “Karasu-toshokan” (Crow Library). Now I have to make detailed blueprints and a model. The model is the hardest part. I’m using balsa wood and glue, trying to make the joints. My room is a mess. Ren calls it “Kiko’s Nest of Doom.” He’s not wrong.

My dad helped me get some books from the city library on traditional Japanese joinery. The names are beautiful: kigumi, shihoukezuru, kanawatsugi. It’s like a secret language. My mom brings me chilled barley tea while I work and doesn’t complain about the mess.

But Emma, I’m struggling with the math. To make the model stable, the angles have to be perfect. I keep getting it wrong. My prototype keeps leaning to the left like the Tower of Pisa! I feel so frustrated sometimes I want to crumple everything up. What if Yoshioka-sensei is wrong? What if I don’t have “the eye,” I just have a weird obsession with an old building?

Sorry for complaining. How is your summer?

Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

August 30th

Dear Kiko,

Don’t apologize! If you can’t complain to your pen pal and your dog, who can you complain to? Waffles is a great listener, by the way.

I think it’s okay to be obsessed with an old building. Everyone needs a thing that makes them excited. Mine is probably chocolate chip cookies (I’m trying to perfect the recipe).

About the math… is there anyone who can help? Maybe your math teacher? Or someone at the castle? Is there a guide or a caretaker who knows about the construction? Sometimes the best help comes from unexpected places.

My summer was good. I went to the beach with my mom, and Waffles tried to chase seagulls. He ate a lot of sand. It was funny.

Keep going, Kiko. Your library is going to be wonderful.

Emma

To: Emma Davis

September 25th

Emma,

You are a genius.

I read your letter and I had a thought. The castle! Of course! There’s an old caretaker there, Mr. Kobayashi. He’s been there forever. He’s thin and bent like an old tree, and he always wears a hat. He sometimes shooes away kids who are being too loud, so I was always a little scared of him.

But after your letter, I gathered my courage. I took my crooked model, my sketchbook, and went to the castle on a Tuesday afternoon when it was quiet. I found him sweeping leaves by the main gate.

I bowed and said, “Sumimasen, Kobayashi-san?”

He looked at me over his glasses. “Hmm?”

My voice was so small. “I’m making a model of a building… using joinery. Like the castle. And I can’t get the angles right. Could you… could you look at it?”

I thought he’d tell me to go away. But he put down his broom. He took my model, turned it over in his hands like it was a precious artifact. He looked at my sketches. He didn’t say anything for a long time.

Then he said, “Come with me.”

He didn’t take me into the castle. He took me to a small workshop behind the ticket office. It was full of tools and scraps of wood. It smelled like sawdust and history. He pointed to a corner of a beam. “See here? The aikaki joint. The secret is not in the cut, but in the shaving. You shave a little, test it, shave a little more. You talk to the wood. You don’t fight it.”

For an hour, he showed me. He didn’t do it for me. He guided my hands. My cuts were clumsy, but he just nodded. “Again. Slower.”

When I left, my model was still crooked, but I knew why. And I knew how to fix it. I bowed so low. “Arigato gozaimashita!”

He just grunted and went back to his sweeping. But I think I saw a tiny smile.

I’m not just building a model for a contest anymore, Emma. I’m learning a language. The castle’s language.

Thank you.
Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

October 18th

Dear Kiko,

I got CHILLS reading your letter! That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. Mr. Kobayashi sounds like a character from a Miyazaki film. I’m so glad he helped you. It’s like the castle itself decided to help you tell its story in a new way.

You’re not just an architect anymore. You’re an apprentice!

How’s the model now?

Emma

To: Emma Davis

November 5th

Dear Emma,

The model is finished.

It’s not perfect. But it stands straight. The joints fit together snugly. The little paper roof curves just right. I painted it a soft charcoal grey, with white “plaster” walls. I even made tiny paper books for the shelves inside.

I submitted it to the contest yesterday. The judging is at the end of the month. I feel… empty and full at the same time. Like I’ve put a piece of my soul into a little box and sent it away.

No matter what happens, I got to learn from Mr. Kobayashi. I wave at him now when I visit the castle, and he gives a tiny nod. That feels like a bigger prize than any trophy.

The castle is so beautiful now. The leaves around the moat are turning bright red and gold. The black walls look even darker and more dramatic against the fire-colored trees. It’s like the castle is wearing a crown.

What’s new with you?

Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

November 28th

Dear Kiko,

Just a quick note—I know the judging must be soon. I’m thinking of you and your Crow Library. Waffles and I are sending you all our good luck!

No matter what, you’re amazing.
Emma

To: Emma Davis

December 15th

Dear Emma,

The contest…

I didn’t win first prize.

I didn’t win second prize, either.

But Emma… I won the “Judge’s Special Award for Cultural Vision.” They said my design “beautifully bridged historical tradition and modern community needs.” They are going to display my model and drawings at the Nagano Prefectural Museum of Art for two months, starting in January!

When they called my name, I couldn’t move. My parents were there, and they were crying. Ren was actually quiet for once, his eyes huge. Yoshioka-sensei was clapping so hard. And when I went up to get my certificate, who was in the back of the room, in his everyday hat? Mr. Kobayashi. He gave me one firm nod.

After the ceremony, a woman from the city’s planning department came to talk to me and my parents. She said they are designing a new community center in a few years, and they would love to include some of the design elements from my “Karasu-toshokan.” They asked if they could keep my blueprints for reference!

My head is still spinning. I didn’t design the best building. But I designed a building that meant something. That’s what I wanted, more than anything.

It’s starting to snow here. Big, soft flakes. The castle under a blanket of snow is my favorite sight in the whole world. It looks peaceful. Complete.

Thank you, Emma. For listening. For telling me to ask for help. For being my friend on the other side of the world. Writing to you helped me figure everything out.

I will send you a picture of my model at the museum!

Merry Christmas.
Your friend forever,

Kiko

To: Kiko Suzuki

January 10th

Dear Kiko,

I’M SO PROUD OF YOU I COULD SCREAM! The Judge’s Special Award sounds even better than first prize! And the city might use your ideas?! That’s not a contest win, that’s real life! You’re a real architect now.

I showed my mom all your letters and told her the whole story. She got a little teary-eyed. We’re planning a trip. Not sure when, but we’re saving up. I want to see the Black Castle for myself. I want to meet you, and your family, and maybe even bow to Mr. Kobayashi (from a safe distance).

Keep drawing. Keep building. Keep writing to me.

Your biggest fan,
Emma

P.S. Waffles barked in approval. He also ate a cookie I was going to send you. Sorry.

To: Emma Davis

March 20th

Dear Emma,

Spring is coming. The snow on the castle roofs is melting, drip-drip-dripping into the moat. The koi are becoming active again.

Yesterday, I went to the castle. I stood on the sixth floor, looking out at my city. I tried to see the future. I tried to imagine where my library might one day stand.

Then I looked down at the ancient wooden floorboards beneath my feet. I thought of the hands that shaped them. I’m not just a girl looking at a castle anymore. I’m in conversation with it.

The castle isn’t a shadow over my life. It’s the foundation. And my future is something I get to build, one careful, joined piece at a time.

Come visit anytime. I’ll show you all the best spots. I’ll even introduce you to the koi.

Until then, I’ll be here, drawing, building, and watching the crow spread its wings.

Your friend,
Kiko