The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

 The serenity and beauty of a Japanese garden and assistance of a samurai come through this story. Both aspects unveil a poignant story.

1937: Stephen Chan, 20 years old, is sent by his family from busy Hong Kong to his family’s summer house by the sea in Tarumi, Japan, to recover from tuberculosis. 

He is met there by the only occupant of the house Matsu, who’s been taking care of the house and garden since early age. The garden reflects the extension of his life. In the village he is known for his art as a master of gardens. He uses flowers as colors to paint his picture in the garden.

While Stephen recuperates, he occupies his time with painting and drawing.

At the beach, he meets two sisters Keiko and Mika. As he gets to know Keiko, he learns of her brother being with the Japanese army in China. That makes him wander if the brother is in Shanghai, where Japanese recently celebrated their victory over controlling the city.

Matsu takes Stephen to Yamaguchi to visit his leper friend Sachi. This village in the mountains was designated just for lepers. With each visit Stephen gets to know Sachi more and he is fascinated by her calmness. He persists in convincing her to tell him her story. And it is a profound story.

As the story develops, it reveals in bits the sad history of Japanese invasions, including unnecessary brutality. But the story is concentrated on human nature and what it takes to achieve calmness as human nature tends to struggle.

The story has a bit slow beginning, but once the leper village is introduced (pg 23) the story picks up its pace and is touchingly presented.

The book mentions women divers, if you’d like to read more about this: The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See – about Korean island of Jeju known for women divers. 

Highly recommend another book about the issue of lepers: The Island by Victoria Hislop

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