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The Street of a Thousand Blossoms

by Gail Tsukiyama · 2007

"Just remember," Yoshio said quietly to his grandsons. "Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you're fighting for." It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers are growing… more

16 quotes ★ 3.98 (10,846) Historical

Quotes from the Book

Everything seems simpler from a distance.
94
But how will I know it's my destiny?' 'Like love it will possess you... You can't help but know.
24
Just remember, Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you’re fighting for.
14
Do you think a champion is made out of thin air? It’s through the hardships you endure that you’ll gain real strength.
10
To have strength without knowing how to use it means nothing.
8
We live a short enough time on this earth. A man should do what he loves.
7
Success is not handed to you. You must work hard for it and you must never dishonor what you’ve achieved.
7
Don’t you think every face tells its own story? Like a book? More like a poem. If you study it long enough, you’ll soon find its meaning.
4
To be noble,. . .was to account for the life you lived, to always account for your mistakes, and to have dignity and worth.
4
We’re stepping into a new world, and an entire way of thinking must be changed. But the old ideas can’t be easily discarded. Like a pendulum, new ways must swing to the other side before returning.
4
Grief was an opponent he would never be able to defeat.
2
Just don’t ever think you deserve to be beaten.
2
Like love, it will possess you, Hiro-chan,” she said. “You can’t help but know.
Haru looked at the devastation around her. I see a world covered in grey ash. I see a world covered in grey ash with flecks of white bone. I see a world covered in grey ash with flecks of white bone of all those who will never rise again.
Ah yes, now Yoshio remembered the last myth. Three foxes together foretold disaster. And here they were, like three foxes trapped in a hole with disaster just above them.
In the end, the body betrayed everyone.

About Gail Tsukiyama

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About the book

"Just remember," Yoshio said quietly to his grandsons. "Every day of your lives, you must always be sure what you're fighting for." It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers are growing up with their loving grandparents, who inspire them to dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition. The older boy, Hiroshi, shows unusual skill at the national obsession of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of creating hard-carved masks for actors in the Noh theater.Across town, a renowned sumo master, Sho Tanaka, lives with his wife and their two young daughters: the delicate, daydreaming Aki and her independent sister, Haru. Life seems full of promise as Kenji begins an informal apprenticeship with the most famous mask-maker in Japan and Hiroshi receives a coveted invitation to train with Tanaka. But then Pearl Harbor changes everything. As the

Book details

First published
2007
Goodreads rating
3.98 (11k ratings)

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