The Samurai's Son

The Samurai's Son PDF Author: David Slater
Publisher: Archway Publishing
ISBN: 1480805092
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Amid the carnage of a brutal civil war in May of 1968, a Biafran Red Cross doctor and his pregnant Swiss wife are separated while attempting to board the last ship to leave Port Harcourt, Biafra, before Nigerian troops arrive. In Sendai, Japan, in March of 2011, a Japanese businessman is trapped in his earthquake damaged boardroom. As tsunami sirens blare, his final thoughts focus on his family and a hidden son living half a world away. These two incidents, so far removed from each other, are brought together when a digital camera of dubious provenance is bought in a Vancouver pawnshop by a mining executive. It is January of 2013 when Darren Westover, still devastated over his wife's sudden death four years earlier, unwittingly buys the stolen camera. He takes a few sample photos and then plugs the camera into his computer to view the pictures. Once he realizes there are images on the memory card that are not his own, Westover starts a search for the camera's rightful owner, unaware that he will soon find himself on a perilous, trans-Pacific journey that brings events from war-torn Biafra and tsunami-ravaged Japan to a climax on the dark, wet streets of Coal Harbour, Vancouver. The Samurai's Son is the intriguing tale of one man's quest for answers as he attempts to piece together a complex puzzle that leads him not only to the truth, but also to a new beginning.

The Samurai's Son

The Samurai's Son PDF Author: David Slater
Publisher: Archway Publishing
ISBN: 1480805092
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
Amid the carnage of a brutal civil war in May of 1968, a Biafran Red Cross doctor and his pregnant Swiss wife are separated while attempting to board the last ship to leave Port Harcourt, Biafra, before Nigerian troops arrive. In Sendai, Japan, in March of 2011, a Japanese businessman is trapped in his earthquake damaged boardroom. As tsunami sirens blare, his final thoughts focus on his family and a hidden son living half a world away. These two incidents, so far removed from each other, are brought together when a digital camera of dubious provenance is bought in a Vancouver pawnshop by a mining executive. It is January of 2013 when Darren Westover, still devastated over his wife's sudden death four years earlier, unwittingly buys the stolen camera. He takes a few sample photos and then plugs the camera into his computer to view the pictures. Once he realizes there are images on the memory card that are not his own, Westover starts a search for the camera's rightful owner, unaware that he will soon find himself on a perilous, trans-Pacific journey that brings events from war-torn Biafra and tsunami-ravaged Japan to a climax on the dark, wet streets of Coal Harbour, Vancouver. The Samurai's Son is the intriguing tale of one man's quest for answers as he attempts to piece together a complex puzzle that leads him not only to the truth, but also to a new beginning.

The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai PDF Author: Helen DeWitt
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 0811225518
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Called “remarkable” (The Wall Street Journal) and “an ambitious, colossal debut novel” (Publishers Weekly), Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai is back in print at last Helen DeWitt’s 2000 debut, The Last Samurai, was “destined to become a cult classic” (Miramax). The enterprising publisher sold the rights in twenty countries, so “Why not just, ‘destined to become a classic?’” (Garth Risk Hallberg) And why must cultists tell the uninitiated it has nothing to do with Tom Cruise? Sibylla, an American-at-Oxford turned loose on London, finds herself trapped as a single mother after a misguided one-night stand. High-minded principles of child-rearing work disastrously well. J. S. Mill (taught Greek at three) and Yo Yo Ma (Bach at two) claimed the methods would work with any child; when these succeed with the boy Ludo, he causes havoc at school and is home again in a month. (Is he a prodigy, a genius? Readers looking over Ludo’s shoulder find themselves easily reading Greek and more.) Lacking male role models for a fatherless boy, Sibylla turns to endless replays of Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai. But Ludo is obsessed with the one thing he wants and doesn’t know: his father’s name. At eleven, inspired by his own take on the classic film, he sets out on a secret quest for the father he never knew. He’ll be punched, sliced, and threatened with retribution. He may not live to see twelve. Or he may find a real samurai and save a mother who thinks boredom a fate worse than death.

African Samurai

African Samurai PDF Author: Thomas Lockley
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488098751
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
This biography of the first foreign-born samurai and his journey from Africa to Japan is “a readable, compassionate account of an extraordinary life” (The Washington Post). When Yasuke arrived in Japan in the late 1500s, he had already traveled much of the known world. Kidnapped as a child, he had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. Soon, he was learning the traditions of Japan’s martial arts and ascending the upper echelons of Japanese society. In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. Now African Samurai presents the never-before-told biography of this unique figure of the sixteenth century, one whose travels between countries and cultures offers a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan. “Fast-paced, action-packed writing. . . . A new and important biography and an incredibly moving study of medieval Japan and solid perspective on its unification. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Eminently readable. . . . a worthwhile and entertaining work.” —Publishers Weekly “A unique story of a unique man, and yet someone with whom we can all identify.” —Jack Weatherford, New York Times–bestselling author of Genghis Khan

The Boy and the Samurai

The Boy and the Samurai PDF Author: Erik Christian Haugaard
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618070398
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Having grown up as an orphan of the streets while sixteenth-century Japan is being ravaged by civil war, Saru seeks to help a samurai rescue his wife from imprisonment by a warlord so they can all flee to a more peaceful life.

The Samurai

The Samurai PDF Author: Stephen Turnbull
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134243693
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
First published in 1977, The Samurai has long since become a standard work of reference. It continues to be the most authoritative work on samurai life and warfare published outside Japan. Set against the background of Japan's social and political history, the book records the rise and rise of Japan's extraordinary warrior class from earliest times to the culmination of their culture, prowess and skills as manifested in the last great battle they were ever to fight - that of Osaka Castle in 1615.

A Daughter of the Samurai

A Daughter of the Samurai PDF Author: Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto
Publisher: Cosimo Classics
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
"The customs of all countries are strange to untrained eyes, and one of the most interesting mysteries of my life here is my own gradual but inevitable mental evolution." -Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, A Daughter of the Samurai (1926) A Daughter of the Samurai (1926) by Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto is the insightful account of the author's drastic change of culture from feudal Japan to an arranged marriage in the United States. The story reveals her assimilation to life as a merchant's wife and her return to Japan as a widow and mother to two daughters. Sugimoto's keen observations of the American way of life and its sharp contrast to her native Japan provide a rich reading experience for anyone interested in gaining or deepening their understanding of living in two different cultures.

Drawing the Samurai Sword

Drawing the Samurai Sword PDF Author: Darrell Max Craig
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462925146
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
To the Japanese, the sword is a spiritual weapon. It possesses a particular divinity, reflecting the soul of its maker, owner, and user. Around its mystical powers has grown the centuries-old ritual and practice of Samurai swordsmanship which is still avidly practiced today as is a fascinating and intricate martial art. This unique guide unlocks all the mysteries of the ancient tradition of Iaijutsu—explaining the history and significance of the sword in Samurai culture and documenting the techniques of swordsmanship as found in no other martial arts book. Darrell Max Craig is one of the foremost teachers of Kendo in the West. He spent many years in Japan competing and training at the very highest level. His book, Drawing the Samurai Sword, provides a thorough examination of all aspects of Iaijutsu—including information on sword care and selection, necessary gear, sword and dojo etiquette, and useful drills for practice and demonstration. This book also teaches readers about: How to evaluate your Samurai sword and handle it safely How to wear the traditional Hakama uniform How to perform the Kata forms to hone your technique The brutal history of sword testing, and today's more humane equivalent The classic and exciting story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin" And much more! Featuring a new preface by the author, original color photos and added information about sword testing, this generously-illustrated book is a treasure trove of information for aspiring students and experienced practitioners alike.

The Samurai's Daughter

The Samurai's Daughter PDF Author: John J. Healey
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1948924315
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
A tale of personal discovery, familial obligations, and competing cultural expectations is at the heart of this exciting sequel to The Samurai of Seville. Soledad Maria, called Masako by her father, is a child of two worlds. Born in Seville in the seventeenth century, she is the daughter of a beloved Spanish lady and a fearsome samurai warrior sent to Spain as a member of one of the most intriguing cultural exchanges in history. After her mother's death, Soledad Maria and her father set out to return to Japan, though a journey across the world can never be without peril. Once they return, even their position in her father’s home is not secure. As they try to stay one step ahead of those who would harm them, Soledad Maria finds herself grappling with not only the physical challenges of her many voyages, but with who she is, which legacy to claim—that of a proper Spanish lady or of a samurai—and which world she can really call home. The Samurai's Daughter is an essential and timeless story of accepting ourselves and finding our place in the world.

The Samurai's Secret

The Samurai's Secret PDF Author: Rei Kimura
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
ISBN: 1626016747
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Can a Japanese samurai of impeccable lineage in Edo period Japan get away with being gay? Can he break all the rules of society and get away with it? It all started when an aging samurai took an eccentric interest in a teenage peasant boy who had the unusual gift of writing. One day he brought his son, Lord Okimoto to the peasant’s house. Immediately when their gazes met, the samurai’s son and the teenage peasant, a forbidden love affair formed, an affair which broke all the rules of Japan’s Edo period society and a feudal class so sharply defined that it could cut like a knife. Four centuries later, an ancestor of Lord Okimoto finds a diary written by his peasant lover unfolding the anguished tale of a forbidden life went wrong, leaving behind a trail of broken hearts, shattered dreams and destroyed lives. The tale of the gay samurai who put duty and obligations above his poignant love travels one whole circle to arrive to the 21st century in a final twist to this intriguing story of how two young men dared to break all the rules in conservative unforgiving 18th century Japan.

The Samurai's Tale

The Samurai's Tale PDF Author: Erik Christian Haugaard
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618615124
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
When the powerful Lord Takeda's soldiers sweep across the countryside, killing and plundering, they spare the boy Taro's life and take him along with them. Taro becomes a servant in the household of the noble Lord Akiyama, where he meets Togan, a cook, who teaches Taro and makes his new life bearable. But when Togan is murdered, Taro's life takes a new direction: He will become a samurai, and redeem the family legacy that has been stolen from him.