The Samurai's Garden Quotes

All the way to Japan on board the President Wilson, Ching refused to let me sit on the the sun drenched deck without wearing at least three sweaters. When we finally arrived in Kobe, she clung to me whispering and hissing, ‘These are the Japanese devils who have driven our Chinese out of their homes.’” (Pg. 5) The above excerpt describes Stephen, the main character, and his journey from his life in China, to his new life in Japan. During his train ride to Japan, his caretaker named Ching describes the Japanese as “devils”, which offers information as to how the common people of the two countries felt towards each other. Through Ching’s negative choice of words, it is evident that the Chinese were already feeling aggression towards Japan, even at such an early point in the war. The quote offers
The novel gives insight as to what was happening in the war between the Chinese and the Japanese. For example on page 21, it is revealed that Shanghai was repeatedly bombed and was purposefully set on fire in certain locations that were not destroyed by the bombs. Aside from the World War being described, the novel does a good job of teaching about the Chinese and Japanese culture. Throughout the novel, hobbies such as gardening and painting are often brought up. The mentioning of such simple hobbies helps the reader comprehend what the common citizens saw as an escape to get their minds off of the war. Ultimately, the book’s combination of both personal information used with the actual historical events of the war help the reader have a better understanding of what was truly occurring during this time, making it an interesting book that is a good source of learning general historical information about World War