““Toyo watched carefully as his uncle prepared to kill himself. … To honor his promise to bear witness, he forced himself to watch as his uncle’s insides spilled onto the floor of the Shinto shrine, the body deflating like a torn rice sack.”
So begins Alan Gratz’s fascinating historical novel Samurai Shortstop, which takes place in 1890’s Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration when “[a]lmost overnight, Japan went from the Middle Ages to the modern era,” and the emperor outlawed the sumarai culture that had put him in power.
On his 16th birthday, Toyo was to have become a samurai like his father and uncle. Instead, he is enrolled at First Higher School, an elite academy that grooms its students to take their place as leaders in the upper crust of Japan’s society. As first year students, Toyo and his friend Sutoshi succumb to the “the storm,” a school hazing tradition in which the upperclassmen hit, kick, and beat the first year students with sticks. But when Toyo proves his skills on the baseball diamond, he becomes a teammate rather than a target.
His father, Shimada, however, despises baseball and all other Western influences. Rather than live as a ronin – a lordless samurai drifting with “no past, no future, no allegiances, and no home in the present” – Shimada prepares for his own suicide ceremony, at which Toyo is expected to cut off his disemboweled father’s head.
Although Toyo cannot have a career as a samurai, Shimada agrees to teach him the samurai code, bushido. As he learns the principles and rituals, Toyo feels closer to his father than ever and wonders, “Was there any way to learn the way of the warrior and still save his father’s life?”
The book is fast-paced, but contains a number of violent scenes that may disturb sensitive readers. It offers a fascinating look at the clash of Eastern and Western cultures, which will appeal to fans of baseball and history. Although Gratz uses many Japanese terms, especially in his descriptions of the baseball action, he helps readers understand their meaning either through clear explanation or context. He also provides an interesting author’s note that explains the book’s historical connections.”
