A sumptuous novel inspired by one of history's most intriguing
forgotten chapters--the arrival of Japanese Samurai on the shores of
Europe.
In 1614, twenty-two Samurai warriors and a group of tradesmen from Japan
sailed to Spain, where they initiated one of the most intriguing
cultural exchanges in history. They were received with pomp and
circumstance, first by King Philip III and later by Pope Paul V. They
were the first Japanese to visit Europe and they caused a sensation.
They remained for two years and then most of the party returned to
Japan; however, six of the Samurai stayed behind, settling in a small
fishing village close to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where their descendants
live to this day.
Healey imbues this tale of the meeting of East and West with uncommon
emotional and intellectual intensity and a rich sense of place. He
explores the dueling mentalities of two cultures through a singular
romance; the sophisticated, restrained warrior culture of Japan and the
baroque sensibilities of Renaissance Spain, dark and obsessed with
ethnic cleansing. What one culture lives with absolute normality is
experienced as exotic from the outsider's eye. Everyone is seen as
strange at first and then--with growing familiarity--is revealed as
being more similar than originally perceived, but with the added value
of enduring idiosyncrasies.
The story told in this novel is an essential and timeless one about the
discoveries and conflicts that arise from the forging of relationships
across borders, both geographical and cultural.
