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Storm Rider

von Akira Yoshimura

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643408,441 (3.55)20
Based on real characters and events, Storm Rider is a vivid historical portrait of Japan and America in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as an exciting high-seas adventure and a moving story of a man lost between two cultures. At the age of thirteen, Hikotaro is orphaned and left to a life at sea. When the merchant vessel he sails on is caught in a violent storm on the Pacific, an American ship comes to the rescue and takes the young boy to San Francisco. With trepidation and hope, the boy-now dubbed Hikozo-accepts his new country. Still, he dreams of returning to Japan, but shogunate policy forbids reentry to Japanese who have been abroad. He tries anyway, only to be refused and returned to America, where a wealthy American adopts Hikozo and introduces him to a world of influence and power. Some ten years later, Hikozo returns to a Japan stirred into violence by the opening of the country. At the same time, America is in the midst of its bloody Civil War, and Hikozo finds that there is no place he can call home.… (mehr)
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I loved reading this book although I must admit it's not a book for everyone. I rarely like historical novels although this book captivated me. I have read three other novels by Akira Yoshimura and have been enchanted by his writing. How he made this novel, replete with historical facts and countless names of cities, people, and Japanese years so fascinating is due to his quiet way of telling one man's story. I was astounded to find out during my reading of this book that it is based on many actual historical facts and people.

In fact, the protagonist, Joseph Heco was a real person who started his traveling as a castaway aboard a Japanese ship in the mid 1800's. His travels took him to many places, including China and the United States at a time when Japan excluded foreigners completely. Hikotaro (Joseph Heco) faced the problem of how to re-enter his native county of Japan after becoming pretty well incorporated into American culture. His story is fascinating. ( )
  SqueakyChu | Oct 11, 2015 |
This is the story of Hikotaro, a young Japanese man who desires to go to sea; this is taking place in the middle of the 19th century. When he reaches 13 years old he is able to get assigned to work on a ship. But on one of his early trips, a storm reaches the ship, tussles it around and the violence of the storm breaks the masts and breaks the rudder, among other damages. They are adrift at sea and suffer hunger and thirst for many days until they are rescued by an American merchant ship, that is bound for San Francisco.
Once in the United States, he finds it impossible to find a way back so he manages to get one job after another. Later on he finds two or three Americans who help him- to get jobs, to go to school, etc. He learns English and works as a newspaperman. Through acquaintances he makes, he ends up in DC before and during the Civil War.
Because of his knowledge of Japanese and English, he finds himself sought as a translator and lands a job with the U.S. government in Japan. His dream of returning to his home land is realized. However, when he returns to Japan he finds that he is not considered Japanese anymore- he is a foreigner to the Japanese. Because at this time foreigners were restricted to travel only within 15 miles of a seaport, he had some difficulty in getting back to his village. When he finally is able to do so, he is highly disappointed to see that the village he remembered was not the idealized clean little village, but more like a dirty town.
In the end, he fully realizes that he is a man without a country. Never fully American and not a Japanese anymore. This is a source of much pain to him. ( )
  xieouyang | Aug 26, 2013 |
Storm Rider is primarily a story about a young Japanese castaway rescued by American sailors trying to get back to his homeland. Hikotaro, who became Hikozo, and later Joseph Heco becomes a successful interpreter for various commercial enterprises and the US government during the period when Japan was opening itself to western trade again in the 1850's. Even though Hikozo is able to return to his homeland in his heart he is knows that his fellow countrymen will always be considered a criminal for becoming a citizen of his adopted country and converting to Christianity. Never being truly American and not able to assimilate himself back into Japanese society, Hikozo is destined to drift between this cultural divide unsure of where he fits and where his true loyalties lie.

On the surface this would make a compelling story. However, Yoshimura fails to deliver the goods. Instead the reader is presented with an interesting historical perspective of the opening of Japan but not much else. The main plot has no real dramatic tension or motivation. The story simply follows Hikozo around for many years detailing his life and all the people who help him return to Japan, while on some level this is fairly interesting it doesn't make for a very compelling read. On top of that Yoshimura felt it necessary to split the narrative several times, following the lives of other Japanese castaways whom Hikozo meets as they, too, try to return to Japan. All these stories felt like an epilogue sandwiched in the middle without much thought as to how it would affect the pace and overall structure of the story. It's all a bit strange why Yoshimura choose to fragment the story in this way, something I would expect from a first time novelist, not a seasoned veteran. Also, the translation while probably accurate and precise his often very dry and a times seems to breakdown the cadence/rhythm of Yoshimura's writing that is quite jarring and hard and adds breaks to the narrative that shouldn't be there. Really Storm Rider feels like a thinly veiled historical narrative Nakahama Manjiro's life and the opening of Japan. With some judicious editing and a better translator this could have been a really good novel. Or maybe Yoshimura should have just stuck with a historical biography of Nakahama Manjiro and not have tried to fictionalize his life story.

On a positive note Storm Rider has not deterred my desire to read Shipwrecks by the same author. Even though I may not have enjoyed Storm Rider as much as I would have liked, I did find some real potential in Yoshimura's writing. Added bonus I learned about Nakahama Manjiro, an unintentional side effect of googleing. Oh and now I feel I need to learn more about Japanese culture and history to really understand setting and moods of Japanese fiction. ( )
  stretch | Sep 24, 2011 |
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AutorennameRolleArt des AutorsWerk?Status
Akira YoshimuraHauptautoralle Ausgabenberechnet
Gabriel, PhilipÜbersetzerCo-Autoreinige Ausgabenbestätigt
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Based on real characters and events, Storm Rider is a vivid historical portrait of Japan and America in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as an exciting high-seas adventure and a moving story of a man lost between two cultures. At the age of thirteen, Hikotaro is orphaned and left to a life at sea. When the merchant vessel he sails on is caught in a violent storm on the Pacific, an American ship comes to the rescue and takes the young boy to San Francisco. With trepidation and hope, the boy-now dubbed Hikozo-accepts his new country. Still, he dreams of returning to Japan, but shogunate policy forbids reentry to Japanese who have been abroad. He tries anyway, only to be refused and returned to America, where a wealthy American adopts Hikozo and introduces him to a world of influence and power. Some ten years later, Hikozo returns to a Japan stirred into violence by the opening of the country. At the same time, America is in the midst of its bloody Civil War, and Hikozo finds that there is no place he can call home.

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