Amazon.co.uk Review
Every April a front of cherry blossom moves northwards across the Japanese mainland, heralding spring and an outbreak of parties and celebration at its arrival. Author and missionary Lowell Shepherd decided to follow this floral eruption, cycling 2,000 miles in seven weeks. He wasn't just chasing petals: as he prayed and pedalled, he hoped to gain an insight into the psyche of the Japanese nation.
It feels as if we readers are hitching a lift on Shepherd's parcel rack thanks to the incredibly detailed diary he kept up despite fatigue and knees so painful he had to chew painkillers and mutter prayers for strength through clenched teeth. He writes evocatively of a land of contrasts, lush valleys and spectacular mountains ceding to urban sprawl and Karaoke bars, but above all of the friendliness of the Japanese and their astonishment and delight when they hear of his pilgrimage.
One of the most striking passages in the book is when Shepherd visits the Peace Museum at Nagasaki, where a second nuclear bomb was dropped after Hiroshima, in August 1945. The statistics are appalling but even more numbing is the fact that most of our modern nuclear warheads are 50 times more powerful than that dropped on Nagasaki.
As Shepherd concludes his two-wheeled odyssey he realises that he understands himself much better and has a greatly strengthened faith but that he has hardly scratched the surface when it comes to understanding the Japanese. Nevertheless, this is an enticing journal for anyone wishing to discover more about Japan, its people and one man's trust in God. --Amanda Cameron
Product Description
The flowering of the cherry blossom is a powerful symbol of hope in Japan. The first buds open in the south in March and within six weeks the whole country has celebrated the blossom's return as a signal of new beginnings; the new academic year begins and young workers traditionally embark on their first jobs. Intrigued by this unique national celebration, and by Japan's rapid modernisation in the last sixty years, Lowell Sheppard sets out on a six week adventure through the 2000 mile length of the country, following the flowering of the blossom as it progresses north. Travelling on a bicycle, he experiences at close hand both everyday Japanese life and the glorious visual feast of the blossoms as he visits 100 viewing sites before the season is over. But when it ends, the sense of national disillusionment is tangible...This intimate encounter with the Japanese at their least inhibited reveals how they are coping with the transition from modernity to post-modernity and asks whether hope is to be found, or whether it is as elusive and fleeting as the cherry blossom.
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