The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

Believe it or not, Lucy is not the only one reading; she’s just way better than us at posting!

I will admit that I first picked out this book for its cover. Then, when I saw the author’s name, I remembered that several people recommended her other books, Women of the Silk and The Samurai’s Garden. I haven’t read those yet. The other thing that struck me about this book is that it was written from the point of view of ordinary people living in a Japanese village during World War Two. I realized that I hadn’t really read anything from this perspective since John Hersey’s Hiroshima.

Hiroshi and his brother Kenji live with their grandparents, after their parents are killed in a senseless boating accident. In school Hiroshi is often called upon to defend his younger brother, whose slight build and unwillingness to fight have earned him the nickname “Kenji the Ghost.” As the war begins Hiroshi is poised to fulfill his dreams of one day being a famous Sumo wrestler, by becoming an apprentice in a well-regarded stable. He shares this bond with his grandfather, who has passed on his love for the ancient sport over the course of countless matches they’ve listened to together on the radio. Kenji forms a tentative friendship with a well-regarded artisan, and is immersed in dreams of making masks for the Noh theater. The striking differences in their goals is offset by the similarities of their character; as both seek to keep alive ancient traditions. The details of the increasingly bad news of the war seem even more horrific in contrast. The story continues through the war and beyond, movingly relating the realities of living in a country that has been defeated.

Tsukiyama tells a beautiful story. The characters are lovingly rendered, as if she were writing of her own family. Some of the more peripheral characters seemed a little sketchy; I didn’t feel any particular attachment to either of the boy’s future wives. I loved everything about the grandparents. Despite the many tragedies in the book, my one criticism would be that their lives, surprisingly, were relatively conflict free. I am not saying that terrible things don’t happen to them – it’s a wartime book after all. It just seemed at times that their dreams were fulfilled early on, and the tragedies that occurred later seemed almost inevitable.

On the positive side, I would not have guessed that the rituals of Sumo could be so absorbing to read. I have a whole new respect for the sport; especially since my prior knowledge of it was based on SNL skits. The same can be said for the art of mask making for the theater, an entire profession I did not know even existed. I enjoyed reading this, despite some despite the very silver-lining-ness of some of the themes. The storytelling is compelling, and you will be happy that in the end, not every detail is as neatly wrapped up as you might have expected.