Kazuko Nishimura has a way of being historical times to life. Instead of dull facts of what had happened before, a person is instead transported in the midst of the monumental events taking place in Japan."
A nation dominated by a rigid samurai code of honor and power-hungry warlords, Japan’s transition to modernization, would not be achieved without bloodshed imbued with stoicism, resilience, bravery, deception, treason, and lots of romance.
However, the most rapturous insight of this historical period, is the presence of a Westerner who was instrumental in the political machinations that brought down the Shogun and ushered the country into capitalism.
Thomas Blake Glover, a Scotsman, had neither advanced academic qualification, nor professional training. Placed in an unseemly place, yet during a crucial period, he was armed with vision, a sharp nose for business and a staunch determination. Working with the inequalities rather than fighting them, Glover understood cultural differences could survive on reciprocal respect and concessions; forbearance applied when values conflicted.
Living through the twists and turns of Japan’s mythic culture, pulling the strings of his hard-harnessed power, Glover forever changed the course of the country of the Rising Sun’s history…
