The tone of "Seven Stories of Ying and Yang" is what I would call "Zen parable playfulness". Each story presents a situation the Japanese village of Shimo must deal with; storms, mysteries, strange visitors . . . etc. The time is the Old Kingdom, meaning modern conveniences are not available to the children of the village. Ying and Yang help the children with magical spells, although this is not always apparent to the children. The sister fish talk while floating on the surface of their bowl in the library, but only the children can hear them. Throughout the stories there is a playfulness and humor. But underneath there is always some Zen lesson about life and the nature of the world being shown. The magic of Ying and Yang is hidden; yet is always revealing something to the children of the village.