The Silver Spoon: Memoir of a Boyhood in Japan

The memoir of the famous Japanese poet Kansuke Naka has long been known in Japan as stories of his childhood memoir have first been serialized in a Japanese daily newspaper in nineteen-thirteen. They were enormously popular, and as a result the poet submitted a second set of serial stories a year later. Eventually the memoir was published in a book form and by nineteen-ninety-nine the book’s amazing hundred-and-eighth printing was run. Now we can enjoy these in English in The Silver Spoon. The memoir is great story after story, scores of them, from Naka Kansuke’s birth to his early teenage years. The writing is wonderful, easy to read and filled with fascinating information on Japanese life and culture. Many characters come to life in the memoir though to enjoy this book it helps you to have interest in, and some knowledge of the Japanese culture.

The book starts with a long introduction explaining the political and economic background of the stories. Explanations of the many Japanese customs and cultural references are conveniently within the same page in the form of small sidebars—there are many of these educational asides. The book is illustrated with darling black-and-white sketches.