![]() Toyo himself was a very sympathetic character, and he discovers that many of his schoolmates - and his father - have more sides to them than he could see at first. I was charmed at the way the bushido lessons (which began with zen meditation training, much to Toyo's surprise, but which eventually included grueling, agonizing stints at sword-forms and actual combat with his father) fit in with the baseball training - and was even more delighted when Toyo himself began to realize this and make use of it.ĭespite the grim opening and the often-brutal hazing and training, there's a lot of humor in the story, many new friendships for Toyo, and some wonderfully triumphant moments (on the ball field and off). Toyo agrees to learn, but "was there any way to learn the way of the warrior and still save his father's life?" There are some great scenes here between a father and son who both desperately want to be able to communicate but who are so disconnected that it doesn't seem possible. ![]() In addition to his baseball and his classes, Toyo has something else to learn his father has decided to teach him the way of bushido, by way of explaining the reasons for his uncle's death (and, as his father suggests, for his own). The most surprising element of this story for me was the early popularity of baseball in Japan I had to look it up to make myself believe that a Japanese high school in 1890 would actually be fielding a baseball team at all, never mind being quite manic about it! But it turns out to be true - as do some of the descriptions of the period rules, and of games played. ![]() (I give the author full marks here for managing to keep Toyo's views in line with a boy of his age brought up in his class and culture, while allowing him just enough questioning of authority to make him sympathetic to Western eyes.)įrom Toyo's viewpoint, the main advantage to getting through the hazing is that now he's considered eligible to join the school's baseball team (he plays shortstop, hence the title). Much of the story centers on Toyo's attempts to understand his uncle's reasoning and to cope with his own anger, sorrow, and horror.įrom that stark, deadly opening, the story shifts into Toyo's experiences at his new school, which include what seems to modern eyes an over-the-top amount of hazing, sufficiently frightening and violent to leave its victims suffering sleep-deprivation and, in some cases, actual injuries. Toyo's uncle was among those who opposed the change, and his ritual suicide (seppuku) is his choice over being jailed or executed as a rebel. The story's set in 1890 Tokyo, at a time when the emperor has decided to force the country into adopting Western ways in hopes of improving Japan's position in the world, so many of the traditional ways are not only being discouraged but, in some cases, outlawed. ![]() I really loved this book! From the dramatic opening line ("Toyo watched carefully as his uncle prepared to kill himself") I knew I was in for something unusual. As the gulf between them grows wider, Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family’s samurai values in modern Japan.I read this recently and liked it so much that I hunted up a second copy at the Book Cellar. It all has something to do with –the way of the warrior–but Toyo doesn’t understand even after his father agrees to teach it to him. And worse, Toyo fears that his father may be next. Although Uncle Koji’s defiant death was supposedly heroic, it has made Toyo question many things about his family’s samurai background. Toyo isn’t afraid to prove himself He’s more troubled by his uncle’s recent suicide. Still, he’s taken aback when the seniors keep him from trying out for the baseball team–especially after he sees their current shortstop. High school can be brutal, even in turn-of-the-century Japan.įrom his first day at boarding school, Toyo Shimada sees how upperclassmen make a sport out of terrorizing the first-years.
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