Book Review – Footprints
in the Snow by Kenjiro Tokutomi
Author: Kenjiro Tokutomi
Translator: Kenneth Strong
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, Japan, 1971
ISBN: 0293-000247-4615
Pages: 371
A novel about growing up in the Meiji Period
©
Copyright. 2016. All rights reserved,
A
novel set in the Meiji period between 1860 and 1900 that reveals the hardships
of the time where families lost their fortunes easily and the impact this had
on people families and lives.
We
learn the about the good and bad sides of relatives, the social impact of
dramatic change in society, we gain insights into men’s and women’s worlds,
social interactions including arranged marriages, the importance of education
in order to get ahead and get noticed. Clothing, food, fashion and social
customs of the period. Politics and its impact on everyday people, the need for
guarantors for accommodation and the complexity of love in an open environment
where people had little privacy.
The
tale of one man’s struggle to rebuild his family’s name and wealth.