A golden years romance in Japan
- Book: Strange Weather in Tokyo
- Location: Japan
- Author: Hiromi Kawakami
A gentle courtship plays out in the golden years of life. Tsukiko in middle age happens to meet her Japanese teacher from secondry school, Harutsuna Matsumoto – Sensei – and it is their unfolding circular dance of growing friendship that is at the heart of this short, 2 hour read. It is gentle and philosophical, as they arrange encounters and finally “dates”; it is leisurely at times, intense at others, as they forage for mushrooms, go out to an island, feast on Japanese food, take dips in hot springs and spend plenty of time drinking sake.
Tsukiko is almost girlish in her ways but the firm and sobering hand of Sensei is always there to guide and educate and be the hand of reason.
It is a gentle read, a snapshot of life and love in Japan, which I was pleased to have read, but which will fade – just as love can – over time, leaving a warm feeling of the experience.
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