The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
Registered by UnwrittenLibra of Middleton, Wisconsin USA on 6/11/2009
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
14 journalers for this copy...
Not my favorite Gail Tsukiyama, but it's her newest and an interesting departure from the female-centered novels she usually writes. The writing isn't as strong as her others and I noticed a bunch of spelling/punctuation errors and one or two continuity errors. Overall, though, it was pretty good.
It's going on a little trip - a bookring, that is!
Standard rules apply, add a fun postcard diary documenting the book's travels, please!
Order:
1. arabd - Toluca, Mexico
2. Stacers1973 - Gladstone, Oregon, USA
3. lauraloo29 - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
4. megami-no-ushi - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5. amidabutsu - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
6. AceofHearts - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
7. Elmindreda - Budapest, Hungary
8. spoiledrotten - Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA
9. imawinn2 - Neenah, Wisconsin, USA
10. Back to me: UnwrittenLibra - Baltimore, Maryland, USA
It's going on a little trip - a bookring, that is!
Standard rules apply, add a fun postcard diary documenting the book's travels, please!
Order:
1. arabd - Toluca, Mexico
2. Stacers1973 - Gladstone, Oregon, USA
3. lauraloo29 - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
4. megami-no-ushi - Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5. amidabutsu - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
6. AceofHearts - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
7. Elmindreda - Budapest, Hungary
8. spoiledrotten - Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA
9. imawinn2 - Neenah, Wisconsin, USA
10. Back to me: UnwrittenLibra - Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Traveling today from Baltimore-Roland Park Station, Maryland to Toluca, Mexico!
I received the book, thanks UnwrittenLibra.
I begin to read it immediately after the bookring that came before.
My regards
Updated Jul. 13, 2009 -> I have finished the before bookring, so I have started to read this book.
Updated Aug. 03, 2009 -> This weekend, I started with the Part two. Sorry for the delay, if you want the book already, please let me know this, and I will sent the book.
I love the first part, it was so shocking and emotive. I like this book until now.
Updated Aug. 14, 2009 -> Yesterday I started with the Part three. I have sent a PM to Stacers1973 for his/her address. I will send the book when I have the information.
I begin to read it immediately after the bookring that came before.
My regards
Updated Jul. 13, 2009 -> I have finished the before bookring, so I have started to read this book.
Updated Aug. 03, 2009 -> This weekend, I started with the Part two. Sorry for the delay, if you want the book already, please let me know this, and I will sent the book.
I love the first part, it was so shocking and emotive. I like this book until now.
Updated Aug. 14, 2009 -> Yesterday I started with the Part three. I have sent a PM to Stacers1973 for his/her address. I will send the book when I have the information.
Journal Entry 4 by arabd at Toluca, Estado de México, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Mexico on Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (8/19/2009 UTC) at Toluca, Estado de México, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Mexico
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This book continues its trip to Oregon.
Thanks for the waiting.
I liked this book very much, it's very interesting. The parts One and Three were my favorites.
Thanks to UnwrittenLibra!!!
This book continues its trip to Oregon.
Thanks for the waiting.
I liked this book very much, it's very interesting. The parts One and Three were my favorites.
Thanks to UnwrittenLibra!!!
Saturday - August 29 ... Book Rec'd ... Thanks for including me UnwrittenLibra, and arabd for passing it on ... should start today or tomorrow, looking forward to it! :)
This is the first Gail Tsukiyama I have read and I am sure I want to read some more of her books. I liked the way it was broken into parts and I think Part 1 was my favorite, just getting to know each character and connect all the dots. There were many things I found sad, on top of the obvious things. For one, sometimes the individuals seemed at such unease with certain personal traits that they hid their true selves even from themselves (I think this was noticeable with Kenji who seemed to overcome some of this and his sensei, Akira Yoshiwara, who didn't). For another, tragedy after tragedy takes it toll, but also shows the strength the characters possess to forge ahead, even if they get a little lost along the way. I loved the ferocity and deep honor of the mask making and the sumo and the tenderness of the many sibling relationships. I think I will recommend this book to my mom, who is not a big reader but does enjoy a good story. I really liked the many layers of this book.
Thank you again Unwrittenlibra for sharing this book - I have PMed Lauraloo29 and will move it on when I hear back.
Thank you again Unwrittenlibra for sharing this book - I have PMed Lauraloo29 and will move it on when I hear back.
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed today to Lauraloo29 in Canada @ 4:00 p.m. Enjoy :)
Mailed today to Lauraloo29 in Canada @ 4:00 p.m. Enjoy :)
This arrived while I was on vacation. I'm having issues with getting back to the "real world", but I will keep this book moving. Thank you!
I just cannot get into this book. I normally like these types and I do like the author. My reading time has been drastically cut and I don't want to hold this up. Thank you for sharing. It will be on its way this weekend.
Sorry for the late reply. The book arrived at my office last week and got misplaced in the shuffle for a few days. Shouldn't take me long to get through, so I hope to send it off within 2 weeks!
I really enjoyed the book - I basically read it in two sittings. I don't know if anyone else in the ring has had the opportunity to visist the atomic bomb museums in Nagasaki and Hiroshima or have spent any time in Tokyo, but having done so creates this utterly viseral sense of what the book in conveying, no matter how subtle. I'll be PMing the next participant for a mailing address and will send of the book as soon as I hear back.
Journal Entry 12 by megami-no-ushi at Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada on Monday, November 9, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (11/9/2009 UTC) at Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
I stopped by the post office on the way home tonight and mailed it off to Nova Scotia!
I stopped by the post office on the way home tonight and mailed it off to Nova Scotia!
the book is here! i'm about to finish one, and i will start it immediately after.
thanks for sending it my way.
thanks for sending it my way.
i finished it quite some time ago and forgot to journal it, oops.
i really liked it: the way it's written, the way it's organised, the way characters are connected in ways that are some times obvious and some times subtle... i would not say it's a happy book, not a single character is spared, but it has a certain serenity to it, which makes it not depressing.
i thought too it was interesting to have a snapshot of what life was like for japanese civilians during WWII. history tends to be told from the perspective of the winners, and in north america, little is known of the realities of the everyday people who lived in the countries on the other side of the battles.
i really liked it: the way it's written, the way it's organised, the way characters are connected in ways that are some times obvious and some times subtle... i would not say it's a happy book, not a single character is spared, but it has a certain serenity to it, which makes it not depressing.
i thought too it was interesting to have a snapshot of what life was like for japanese civilians during WWII. history tends to be told from the perspective of the winners, and in north america, little is known of the realities of the everyday people who lived in the countries on the other side of the battles.
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
i finally mailed it. thanks to everybody for being so patient.
i finally mailed it. thanks to everybody for being so patient.
received in the mail. Thanks!!!
The book starts in a suburb of Toyko in 1939. Two boys who have been orphaned are living with their grandparents. Their grandparents love their grandsons and want them to find their passions. The elder brother, Hiroshi is becoming quite good at the national obsession, sumo wrestling. Just as the war starts he is accepted for training at a facilty run by Sho Tanaka. The younger brother is more creative and interested in carving masks for the Non theater.
World War II intervenes. Tsukiyama paints such a vivid picture of the war years in this suburb; the shortages, starvation, home front police bullies and the awful air raids. Each of the brothers is affected. Hiroshi's training is stopped or rather never really starts and Kenji's sensei or master eventually disappears.
This book covers a span of about thirty years. It deals with both the war and the occupation and finally the Americans leaving Japan. It deals with the brothers and the growth of their passions and their search for how they fit into the traditional Japan and the post war modern Japan. The brothers and their loves, their sorrows and joys and triumphs are very well portrayed and brought to life.
I loved this book and the way Tsukiyama described life. It felt so real. The way of life for sumo wrestlers and the traditions and amount of work involved in the Non mask carving were extremely interesting.
World War II intervenes. Tsukiyama paints such a vivid picture of the war years in this suburb; the shortages, starvation, home front police bullies and the awful air raids. Each of the brothers is affected. Hiroshi's training is stopped or rather never really starts and Kenji's sensei or master eventually disappears.
This book covers a span of about thirty years. It deals with both the war and the occupation and finally the Americans leaving Japan. It deals with the brothers and the growth of their passions and their search for how they fit into the traditional Japan and the post war modern Japan. The brothers and their loves, their sorrows and joys and triumphs are very well portrayed and brought to life.
I loved this book and the way Tsukiyama described life. It felt so real. The way of life for sumo wrestlers and the traditions and amount of work involved in the Non mask carving were extremely interesting.
mailed today to Hungary
Journal Entry 19 by Elmindreda at Budapest, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Hungary on Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Sorry for the long delay everyone!! I was travelling, but the book got here and was retrieved by my sister, and I'll be reading it starting tomorrow, I promise!
Journal Entry 20 by Elmindreda at Budapest, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Hungary on Sunday, January 9, 2011
Again, sorry for delaying the ring for so long! The book is now on its way to spoiledrotten in New Jersey. Was mailed January 6th, 2010.
The book was a nice read, I enjoyed the setting and that I got some insight into the world of sumo, a theme I would never have explored otherwise.
*****SPOILER*****
The only thing I didn't like was that there were waaay to many deaths. And not even always war related, like that train accident. Almost everyone dies outside of the two main characters!!... :(
**end of SPOILER**
The book was a nice read, I enjoyed the setting and that I got some insight into the world of sumo, a theme I would never have explored otherwise.
*****SPOILER*****
The only thing I didn't like was that there were waaay to many deaths. And not even always war related, like that train accident. Almost everyone dies outside of the two main characters!!... :(
**end of SPOILER**
Received in the mail today and will be my next read. Thanks for including me and sending it on!
I really enjoyed this book. The story was told beautifully. I will try and send out tomorrow. Will journal then.
Sent off to the next person. Enjoy!! Thanks so much for including me and sending to me.
Received the book today. I will say this, when it rains, it pours. This week alone, I received 3 bookrings/ray. I'm a fairly fast reader but I don't think I'll be able to read all three books in a month. But I will do my best to get this back to UnwrittenLibra in a fairly timely fashion. I also look forward to reading all the cool postcards that BCers have placed in the book. Very neat to see where this book has traveled.
2/19/11: Started reading.
2/19/11: Started reading.
A heartbreaking story but one laced with hope as we follow the lives of the orphaned brothers, Hiroshi and Kenji Matsumoto. This was a fabulous book and found myself immersed in this tale and thoroughly enjoying the characters. This was the first experience I have had with Gail Tsukiyama's writing and I felt she was a wonderful storyteller. Her characters faced tragedy with quiet determination and found solace and healing in nature, art, tradition and family.
As I came to the end of this story, Japan is again facing a horrific situation. This time it is not the effects of war but of nature. Our hearts are saddened by the events of the massive earthquake and tsunami that have stricken Japan. My thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people as they face these dark times.
As I came to the end of this story, Japan is again facing a horrific situation. This time it is not the effects of war but of nature. Our hearts are saddened by the events of the massive earthquake and tsunami that have stricken Japan. My thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people as they face these dark times.
I forgot to make note of when I sent this off. I sent the book off on Friday, March 18th. Enjoy all the postcards.. I know I enjoyed looking and reading them. Happy Travels!
Arrived back in Baltimore, MD today - with an excellently recorded diary of book adventures across the USA, Canada, Mexico, Hungary, South Africa, and Japan! I will soon upload a picture of all the goodies :) Thanks to everyone who contributed to a great bookring - I hope you all enjoyed it very much!
Unwrittenlibra mentioned that this book has been to every part of the world except Australasia, so I couldn't resist taking it home with me :-)
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I haven't forgotten my promise to get this book to one more continent, so I'll be taking it to the Wellington Uncon next weekend where I hope to convince one of our Australian guests to take it home with them.
In the meantime, it finally made it to the top of Mt TBR. Like previous readers, I enjoyed (is that the right word for something so horrific? was fascinated by, anyway) reading a new perspective on the war, seeing the effect on the Japanese people. The description of the Tokyo firestorm in particular was harrowing but gave an amazing insight into what dropping bombs really means to the people underneath (and living myself in a city that's recently suffered widespread devastation, it was heartening to read how quickly Tokyo rose out of the ashes and became revitalised - I hope Christchurch can do the same).
My only quibble is that the pace was sometimes a bit fast - to get through 30 years the story often felt as if it was flicking from year to year like one of those calendar page-turning scenes in an old movie. I would have liked the narrative to slow down more often to give a description of the minutia of life (which was done so well in the bits where it was done), especially post-war when there were so many changes.
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In the meantime, it finally made it to the top of Mt TBR. Like previous readers, I enjoyed (is that the right word for something so horrific? was fascinated by, anyway) reading a new perspective on the war, seeing the effect on the Japanese people. The description of the Tokyo firestorm in particular was harrowing but gave an amazing insight into what dropping bombs really means to the people underneath (and living myself in a city that's recently suffered widespread devastation, it was heartening to read how quickly Tokyo rose out of the ashes and became revitalised - I hope Christchurch can do the same).
My only quibble is that the pace was sometimes a bit fast - to get through 30 years the story often felt as if it was flicking from year to year like one of those calendar page-turning scenes in an old movie. I would have liked the narrative to slow down more often to give a description of the minutia of life (which was done so well in the bits where it was done), especially post-war when there were so many changes.
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Picked up tonight at the Wellington unconvention. It needs to travel to australia and I'll take it back with me.
Journal Entry 31 by 
Pixette
at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Pixette at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Released 12 yrs ago (12/13/2011 UTC) at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
To be released at sydney christmas meetup
Picked up at Xmas bookdrinks last night. This has quite the bookcrossing pedigree!
Adding it to the top of a toppling Mt TBR, hopefully I'll get to it soon, or keep it travelling.
Adding it to the top of a toppling Mt TBR, hopefully I'll get to it soon, or keep it travelling.
Journal Entry 33 by tqd at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (5/8/2012 UTC) at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Too many books TBR on my shelves, time to let some go unread... Releasing at BookDrinks tonight.
Happy hunting/reading!
Happy hunting/reading!
Picked up at the May 2012 Sydney BookCrossingMeetUp.
I enjoyed this book and will read more by Gail Tsukuyama. I am always interested in books set in Japan (of any era). I do agree with some of the comments that the author tried to cover a lot of chronology, at the expense of letting the characters develop more. Still, it was very interesting.
Near Oeno station in Tokyo there is a remnant of suburban villages like Yanaka. Modernised, of course, but not out of recognition. It miraculously survived the firebombing. There is also a small museum in the same general area, but not near the village/neighborhood, with repilcas of shops and houses that is very interesting. Recommended to anyone visiting Japan.
Near Oeno station in Tokyo there is a remnant of suburban villages like Yanaka. Modernised, of course, but not out of recognition. It miraculously survived the firebombing. There is also a small museum in the same general area, but not near the village/neighborhood, with repilcas of shops and houses that is very interesting. Recommended to anyone visiting Japan.
Journal Entry 36 by 
Flight
at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Monday, September 10, 2012
Flight at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Monday, September 10, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (9/10/2012 UTC) at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
To be released at the September 2012 Sydney BookCrossingMeetUp, at the Crown Hotel, 162 Elizabeth St, in the upstairs Library Bar.
The Sydney CBD BookCrossing MeetUp happens on the second Tuesday of the month from 7pm (or a bit earlier) to 9pm (or whenever the conversation winds down). All readers welcome! Get on the list for an invitation to a future meeting by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcsydmeetup/ ... but you don’t need an invitation to turn up. Just bring a book to release.
The Sydney CBD BookCrossing MeetUp happens on the second Tuesday of the month from 7pm (or a bit earlier) to 9pm (or whenever the conversation winds down). All readers welcome! Get on the list for an invitation to a future meeting by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcsydmeetup/ ... but you don’t need an invitation to turn up. Just bring a book to release.
Journal Entry 37 by Flight at Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Flight at Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Unfortunately, everyone seems to have read it, so it remained at orphan at the end of the evening, at the September 2012 Sydney BookCrossing MeetUp.
Journal Entry 38 by Flight at Pyrmont Community Centre Book Exchange in Pyrmont, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Flight at Pyrmont Community Centre Book Exchange in Pyrmont, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (9/18/2012 UTC) at Pyrmont Community Centre Book Exchange in Pyrmont, New South Wales Australia
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Put on the shelf at the wonderful Pyrmont Community Book Exchange Book Crossing Zone.
