C.S. Lewis once said, "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny". In The Samurai’s Garden, the main character, Stephen, moves to Tarumi due to him being diagnosed with tuberculosis in hopes that he will recover from his illness. Throughout the story, it is viewed through Stephen’s point of view, as he meets Matsu, and is later introduced to Sachi. In The Samurai’s Garden, the author, Gail Tsukiyama, uses the characters of Sachi and Stephen to convey the idea how characters can triumph over adversity.
When Sachi first contracts leprosy she tries her best to hide it, in fears that if her family found out she would bring great dishonor to her family. To avoid the confrontation of her disease she decides to commit
…show more content…
At first when Sachi first reveals it to her fiance(Kenzo), she remembers the look on his face as she “ will never forget the look in his eyes when he realized it wasn't a joke--a look of both fear and betrayal”(136). Sachi felt the pain as she had confessed to her family and fiance about her contracting leprosy, she felt ashamed, and she felt as if the last wish she could return to her family was honer, so she set out to the edge of the sea to commit suicide, but when she was finally faced with her suicide Sachi decides to run. Sachi later finds herself isolated in the trees that led to Yamaguchi. Matsu later finds Sachi in the woods, and brings Sachi up to Yamaguchi where she would be able to stay in peace without the having to worry about the troubles in Tarumi. When Matsu was unavailable to comfort Sachi, she found herself in the garden “ I opened …show more content…
In the beginning Stephen had to cope with his loneliness alone but as he got to know Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo better he was capable to cope with the loneliness with the help of Matsu, Sachi, Kenzo. When Stephen starts to settle down in Tarumi, often times he would be lonely and isolated causing his mind to have the “Remembered conversations come back to me as if my friends and family were right here”(17). Shortly after this [flashback], Matsu invites Stephen to visit Sachi in Yamaguchi. As the story progresses, there was a huge storm causing Sachi to come down to visit Matsu and Stephen in Tarumi, but when Kenzo saw, Matsu and Sachi together he mistakens the situation as Matsu tried to explain to Kenzo. Kenzo leaves feeling betrayed. As Sachi and Stephen became closer friends, Stephen is able to display his emotions, as he also learns how to accept others around him for the way they are. One day in Tarumi, there was a fire upon Matsu and Stephens arrival. “Go back”Matsu(120). As Matsu feared for Stephen's life Stephen, still decided to help put out the fire either ways. He offers the villagers help with extinguishing the fire “Let me help you”(121). Through Sachi and Matsu, Stephen had become a stronger person on the outside and on the inside. Instead of running away from the fire like what Matsu had told Stephen to do, Stephen
In the book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan, Karl Friday focuses on war in early medieval Japan. A central thesis could be the political primacy of the imperial court. (Lamers 2005) This is the tenth through fourteenth centuries, before the samurai became prominent in Japan and were trying to form themselves into more of what we think of them today. Friday focuses on five aspects of war in his book; they are the meaning of war, the organization of war, the tools of war, the science of war, and the culture of war.
In The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama, a young man is thrown from his established world, left in a new, confusing realm that holds more than meets the eye. In the midst of a violent and ferocious war between the Chinese and Japanese in mid 1937, this young man, Stephen, contracts tuberculosis, and is sent to his family’s summer house in Japan. There he meets the house’s caretaker, Matsu, a simple and reserved man who holds back all but the most necessary speech. This meeting will come to define many of Stephen’s interactions with others throughout the novel: reserved and limited. In this odd land filled with subtle secrets and unspoken uncomfortability, Stephen is prepared for a very quiet and restful period, marked with healing and growth.
When Stephen contracts tuberculosis and is sent to Tarumi to recuperate, he loses his carefree childhood and falls into isolation. Upon arriving in Tarumi, he says, “This early autumn there didn’t seem to be anyone else here, just me, Matsu, and a complete white silence…I was exhausted by the time Matsu stopped in front one of the many bamboo fenced houses and cleared his throat to get my attention. My lungs were burning and my legs were weak.” (Tsukiyama 9). In this quote, it is clear that disease leads Stephen to isolation. A result of his tuberculosis, Stephen is physically weak, as shown by how his “lungs were burning” and his “legs were weak”. This is further developed by how “exhausted” he feels after the walk to the house. Here, Stephen experiences isolation almost immediately. A lack of other people is revealed by Stephen commenting “didn’t seem to be anyone else here, just me, Matsu”. This sheltered feeling is further expressed by the “complete white silence” hanging the air. If it had not been for his disease, Stephen would not have needed to live in Tarumi and feel isolated as such....
Sometimes people are judged by their looks, and preferences will be made towards the more beautiful people before the less beautiful people. What individuals don’t put into account is that the person’s personality is part of their beauty. In Gail Tsukiyama’s novel, The Samurai’s Garden, through the characterization of Sachi’s personality and adversities, Gail Tsukiyama conveys the message that beauty is deeper than just the outside and this message is important because one shouldn’t judge someone just by their looks.
Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.
When Stephen goes to Johannesburg he has a childlike fear for "the great city" Johannesburg. Khumalo's fears of his family are exactly the same as every other black person in South Africa. In the train he is afraid of living in a world not made for him. He opens his bible and starts reading it, this is one of Khumalo's great sources of alleviation. Gertrude is frightened that her life will now be exposed to her brother who is a priest. She is redeemed from this fear when she prays with Stephen. Stephen experiences great pain and fear during his search for Absalom, Msimangu comforts him, he gains comfort when plays with Gertrude's son, when he thinks of Ndotsheni, his wife and of rebuilding his home it consoles him.
Throughout life many are faced with obstacles that are difficult to overcome. These obstacles can change a person and their life as shown in The Samurai’s Garden, by Gail Tsukiyama. In the novel Matsu and Sachi go through life on a difficult path before finding happiness. When looking at Matsu’s and Sachi’s gardens, one can see that they are a representation of their lives, which is important because the gardens represent their personalities and struggles in their lives.
Do you know someone in the military? A loved one, a friend, do you know what they go through? I may not, but I do know about the harsh training and war that occurred for the Samurais and Knights. In Europe and Japan the empires were falling and Clans were taking over Japan. The government came up with an idea to create feudalism. There was an agreement in both Europe and Japan that exchanged land for protection. The similarities between Samurai and Knights were greater than the differences. This can be shown by looking at the three most similar areas: social position, training and armor, and life, honor, and death. The Samurai and Knights has their differences, but were the similarities greater than those differences.
When Stephen contracts tuberculosis and is sent to Tarumi to recuperate, he loses his carefree childhood and falls into isolation. Upon arriving in Tarumi, he says, “This early autumn there didn’t seem to be anyone else here, just me, Matsu, and a complete white silence…I was exhausted by the time Matsu stopped in front one of the many bamboo fenced houses and cleared his throat to get my attention. My lungs were burning and my legs were weak” (9). A result of his tuberculosis, Stephen is physically weak, as shown by how his “lungs were burning” and his “legs were weak”. This is further developed by how “exhausted” he feels after the walk to the house. .A lack of other people is revealed by Stephen commenting “didn’t seem to be anyone else here, just me, Matsu”. This sheltered feeling is expanded even more by the “complete white silence” hanging the air. Stephen feels very secluded because the quiet calmness of the village is a harsh contrast to the bustling city life he is used to. In this quote, it is clear that diseas...
The samurai of Tokugawa Japan, the yangban of Choson Korea, and the gentry of Ming China were three very powerful and elite groups of East Asia. These groups consisted of high ranking government officials with judicial power and influence. Although the groups were located in the same region they had their similarities and differences in how they obtained power and how they used their power. Japanese samurai were military nobility who had almost as much power as the emperor, but were not the highest ranking officials whereas the yangban officials of Korea were the highest ranking rulers. The gentry of the Ming period of China were once high ranking rulers; however, the gentry were defined as retired Chinese bureaucrats. Socially, all of these groups, at one point or another, were high ranking officials with power in office. The elite groups ruled in different areas of Asia, but they had similarities as well as differences in sources of power, functions as officials, and the problems they faced as elite groups in Asia.
Japanese Gardens The role of gardens plays a much more important role in Japan than here in the United States. This is due primarily to the fact the Japanese garden embodies native values, cultural beliefs and religious principles. Perhaps this is why there is no one prototype for the Japanese garden, just as there is no one native philosophy or aesthetic. In this way, similar to other forms of Japanese art, landscape design is constantly evolving due to exposure to outside influences, mainly Chinese, that effect not only changing aesthetic tastes but also the values of patrons. In observing a Japanese garden, it is important to remember that the line between the garden and the landscape that surrounds it is not separate.
All dramatic productions feature the elements of drama. Following a viewing of the scene ‘Someone’s crying’ from the 1993 movie ‘The Secret Garden’ three of the elements of drama have been assessed. Role, character and relationships have been utilised in ‘The Secret Garden’ to create anxiety and suspense, enticing the viewer to solve the mysteries the Secret Garden presents. The protagonist in the scene is a young girl, around the age of ten who during the night leaves her room to explore her residence. The protagonist narrates the scene; she begins by stating that the ‘house seems dead like under a spell’. This makes the viewer anxious and fearful for the safety of our young protagonist. The protagonist is brave. She pushes open a door and
Even as a young boy, Stephen experienced rejection and isolation at school. On the playground Stephen "felt his body [too] small and weak amid the [other] players" (Joyce 8). His schoolmates even poked fun at his name. In response to his rejection by the other boys Stephen makes a conscious decision to "[keep] on the fringe of his line, out of sight of his prefect" and the other boys. Stephen is later depicted as choosing the "warm study hall" rather than the playground with his friends outside (Joyce 10). His rejection at school leads him to isolate himself in his schoolwork, thus putting himself on a scholarly path that will give him the intellectual skills necessary for the artist within him to achieve adulthood.
As Stephen grows, he slowly but inexorably distances himself from religion. His life becomes one concerned with pleasing his friends and family. However, as he matures he begins to feel lost and hopeless, stating, "He saw clearly too his own futile isolation. He had not gone one step nearer the lives he had sought to approach nor bridged the restless shame and rancor that divided him from mother and brother and sister." It is this very sense of isolation and loneliness that leads to Stephen's encounter with the prostitute, where, "He wanted to sin with another of his kind, to force another being to sin with him and to exult with her in sin.
Religion, besides the practical need for food and shelter is one of the most powerful drives in Stephen's life. Religion serves as Stephen's guidance and saviour yet it is also responsible for his tormented youth and distracting him from his artistic development. As a child growing up in a strict Catholic family, Stephen is raised to be a good Catholic boy who will follow the teaching of Catholism as his guidance in his life. The severity of his family is shown when his mother tells him either to "apologise" (4) or "the eagles will come and pull out his eyes" (4). Stephen is taught by his mother to be tolerant when she "[tells] him not to speak with the rough boys in the college" (5). Similarly, Stephen's father also taught him a Catholic quality by telling Stephen "never to peach on a fellow' (6). Evidence of Stephen following the "never to peach" (6) quality is shown when Stephen agrees not to tell on Wells for pushing him into a ditch. However, as Stephen matures into his adolescence, religion becomes his savior rather than his guidance. As Stephen's family condition declines, he sees priesthood as a way to escape poverty and shame. In fact, priesthood is an opportunity for Stephen's personal gain...