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The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

Gail Tsukiyama

Hardcover | Pages: 422 pages

Rating: 3.97 | 9066 Users | 945 Reviews

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Original Title:	The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
ISBN:	0312274823 (ISBN13: 9780312274825)
Edition Language:	English
Setting:	Tokyo(Japan)

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"Just remember," Yoshio said quietly to his grandsons. "Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you're fighting for."
 
It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers are growing up with their loving grandparents, who inspire them to dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition. The older boy, Hiroshi, shows unusual skill at the national obsession of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of creating hard-carved masks for actors in the Noh theater.
Across town, a renowned sumo master, Sho Tanaka, lives with his wife and their two young daughters: the delicate, daydreaming Aki and her independent sister, Haru. Life seems full of promise as Kenji begins an informal apprenticeship with the most famous mask-maker in Japan and Hiroshi receives a coveted invitation to train with Tanaka. But then Pearl Harbor changes everything. As the ripples of war spread to both families' quiet neighborhoods, all of the generations must put their dreams on hold---and then find their way in a new Japan.
In an exquisitely moving story that spans almost thirty years, Gail Tsukiyama draws us irresistibly into the world of the brothers and the women who love them. It is a world of tradition and change, of heartbreaking loss and surprising hope, and of the impact of events beyond their control on ordinary, decent men and women. Above all, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms is a masterpiece about love and family from a glorious storyteller at the height of her powers.

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Title	:	The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
Author	:	Gail Tsukiyama
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 422 pages
Published	:	September 4th 2007 by St. Martin's Press
Categories	:	Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Cultural. Japan. Asia. Literature. Asian Literature

Rating Out Of Books The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

Ratings: 3.97 From 9066 Users | 945 Reviews

Critique Out Of Books The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

This book was excellent, and started me on a track of reading about the impact of war on the civilians not directly involved with it. Poetic, sweet, and haunting, the story follows the history of two families living just outside of Tokyo at the beginning of World War II. The tragedies of the war are heart-breaking, although somewhat expected (as William Sherman said, "war is hell"), but what makes this particular story so special is that it continues to follow the struggles of these families

I really enjoy Gail Tsukiyama's style of writing. In this novel I read the first half slowly, savoring the stories one by one as it grew. The second half went into a can't put down mode because I grew to love the characters and was anxious to see what would develop. I have never read a book written about the time of WWII from the perspective of a Japanese life during that time. Wow. A needed story to be told. With all that has recently happened to Japan, this story helps in understanding the

Typically, you wont catch me reading a book that has a main character who is a sumo wrestler. Typically. However, this is no typical book.Tsukiyama has written a novel that truly presents the reader with a cross-section of normal Japanese citizens before, during and after WWII. I enjoyed her honest approach and the inner-conflict that the characters expressed about the war; was the government telling them the truth? Should they be supportive of the Emperor? Did they know what they were fighting

I liked this book's general plot and its well-written 1930's setting, but it's a very typical, generic story and the characters are dull at times.

I love Gail Tsukiyama's peaceful tone. She does a fabulous job of depicting life in Japan, spanning from the pre-World War II era through to the post-War revival. The characters in this story are wonderful, engaging, and alive. Her descriptions are so real; during the most intense moments of the war, I had to stop to catch my breath because I was so emotionally engaged in the story. I sped through this 420-page book and loved every minute of it.

I actually enjoyed this story. It makes me want to stroll along Yanaka neighborhood in Tokyo. There is a lot of feelings and emotions going on in Tsukiyamas writing. The prose is lyrical, flowing and passionate, with vivid description. However, some historical facts on Japanese armys invasion to Southeast Asia, particularly Dutch East Indies, need fact-checking. Japan arrived in Tarakan, Borneo island for the oil to fuel their Southeast Asia campaign. Bali, however, has always been Japanese

This one was OK, but disappointing compared to Tsukiyama's previous books. And very long, so about halfway through I realized I wasn't going to love it, but I couldn't quit because I had already invested so much time in it. So I was restless and acutely aware of the large stack of books remaining for me to read after this one. The book was set in Japan spanning about 30 years around WWII. The war part was great but not much happened all of the other years. The part that really irritated me was