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Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms
She broke an ancient tradition--by falling in love.
Kanno Masayo, Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms, is the loveliest and most glamorous geisha in all of Japan. Dick Seaton is a shy, handsome American whose business takes him to Japan to close a very big deal. In violation of a timeless taboo, Dick and Kanno spend slow, tantalizing days falling in love.
Then Dick discovers that Kanno's love was paid for by his businessmen hosts. Sensing his rage and hurt, Kanno flees in confusion. And, too late, Dick realizes the truth--that she really loved him.
Now, a stranger in a strange, exotic land, he must find her--and seduce her back into his life.
Kanno Masayo, Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms, is the loveliest and most glamorous geisha in all of Japan. Dick Seaton is a shy, handsome American whose business takes him to Japan to close a very big deal. In violation of a timeless taboo, Dick and Kanno spend slow, tantalizing days falling in love.
Then Dick discovers that Kanno's love was paid for by his businessmen hosts. Sensing his rage and hurt, Kanno flees in confusion. And, too late, Dick realizes the truth--that she really loved him.
Now, a stranger in a strange, exotic land, he must find her--and seduce her back into his life.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1968
16 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
John Dudley Ball
106 books38 followersJohn Dudley Ball writing as John Ball, was an American writer best known for mystery novels involving the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. He was introduced in the 1965 In the Heat of the Night where he solves a murder in a racist Southern small town. It won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and was made into an Oscar-winning film of the same name starring Sidney Poitier; the film had two sequels, and spawned a television series several decades later, none of which were based on Ball's later Tibbs stories. He also wrote under the name John Ball Jr..
Ball was born in Schenectady, New York, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He wrote for a number of magazines and newspapers, including the Brooklyn Eagle. For a time he worked part-time as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, was trained in martial arts, and was a nudist. In the mid 1980s, he was the book review columnist for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Ball lived in Encino, California, and died there in 1988.
Ball was born in Schenectady, New York, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He wrote for a number of magazines and newspapers, including the Brooklyn Eagle. For a time he worked part-time as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, was trained in martial arts, and was a nudist. In the mid 1980s, he was the book review columnist for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Ball lived in Encino, California, and died there in 1988.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 23, 2009
I first read this novel back in the late '60s or early '70s. As a romance, it is one of my favorites, and I have reread it many times. As the 'novel' as grown with me, I have become more and more aware of something.
John Ball's most famous book, "In the Heat of the Night", dealt with murder but also, in equal measure, with prejudice. In the '60s, that was a major concern.
"Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms" is first and foremost a love story but it, too, addresses prejudice and the misconceptions people have due to that. Rather than black and white, this is East and West, Japanese and American, showing us that knowledge of each other and each other's worlds can break down prejudice wherever it is found.
If this novel were ever to be filmed, it would have to be in a '60s setting, showing us at our best and worst, before the age of PCs, world cell phone communication, etc.
Bravo, John Ball!
John Ball's most famous book, "In the Heat of the Night", dealt with murder but also, in equal measure, with prejudice. In the '60s, that was a major concern.
"Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms" is first and foremost a love story but it, too, addresses prejudice and the misconceptions people have due to that. Rather than black and white, this is East and West, Japanese and American, showing us that knowledge of each other and each other's worlds can break down prejudice wherever it is found.
If this novel were ever to be filmed, it would have to be in a '60s setting, showing us at our best and worst, before the age of PCs, world cell phone communication, etc.
Bravo, John Ball!
November 16, 2024
"Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms" can be read with enjoyment on several levels, as a romance, as a cultural odyssey, or even as a clever presentation of mid-20th-century industrial practices in Japan. It succeeds on all those levels, but my favorite theme is the growth of the American protagonist Richard Seaton.
The gentle love story between an American engineer encountering a timeless beauty (the geisha whose working name is the title of the book) provides an artful camouflage for the way Seaton falls in love with Japan and its timeless culture. He arrives in Japan with a preconceived notion of a feudal, even primitive, Japan which seems to be garnered from the way his task was presented to him by his employers Stateside. The contrast between American and Nipponese engineering philosophies is an even greater surprise to Seaton than his first encounter with a public bath.
But even more striking to me is the way that Richard, in learning to value the people he has come to Japan to work with, begins to accord his own abilities a greater value. I wish this novel was available for the Kindle, because it deserves a much wider audience than it has achieved in the bound, condensed or paperback volumes.
The gentle love story between an American engineer encountering a timeless beauty (the geisha whose working name is the title of the book) provides an artful camouflage for the way Seaton falls in love with Japan and its timeless culture. He arrives in Japan with a preconceived notion of a feudal, even primitive, Japan which seems to be garnered from the way his task was presented to him by his employers Stateside. The contrast between American and Nipponese engineering philosophies is an even greater surprise to Seaton than his first encounter with a public bath.
But even more striking to me is the way that Richard, in learning to value the people he has come to Japan to work with, begins to accord his own abilities a greater value. I wish this novel was available for the Kindle, because it deserves a much wider audience than it has achieved in the bound, condensed or paperback volumes.
February 9, 2021
Just delightful! Funny and sweet, it's a love story set in Japan in the early 1960s, with well-drawn, nuanced characters.
July 31, 2020
Way back when, I read most of Ball's books. This is one I'd start with if able to reread. No copies of any Ball in regional library. (Multiple libraries with copies of DVD 'In the Heat of the Night')
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ba...
***
Here's one of those Kirkus reviews I like to scan in consideration of a possible re-read.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
"A goodish distance from the author's In the Heat of the Night, this simple-minded entertainment concerning the Japanese idyll of a gangly Mr. Deeds in the author's land of the rising gorge. Seems that Richard Emmett Seaton is sent by his employer, the industrial firm of Mercer and Doyle, to push through an advantageous deal with a supplier, Matsumoto and Company. Arriving in Japan, Seaton is all eager business until his virgin eyes are set alight by Miss Thousand Spring Blossoms, or Masayo, a geisha. Seaton runs up quite a geisha bill until he finally realizes that Masayo's attentions are metered. Tangle upon tangle as Seaton is courted by others, straightens out Mercer-Matsumoto affairs. Finally, in love with Japan, transferring his professional devotion to Matsumoto & Co., Seaton degeishas Masayo who consents to become his wife. Many ho-ho's as American-Japanese not understand languages; many nice men and ladies; Japanese baths (tee-hee); amiable stereotyper not miss a tlick. Fuji fudge."
***
And a different review - from Kobo.com
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/miss...
Synopsis
"She Broke an Ancient Tradition by Falling in Love
Kanno Masayo, Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms, is the loveliest and most glamorous geisha in all of Japan. Dick Seaton is a shy, handsome American whose business takes him to Japan to close a very big deal. In violation of a timeless taboo, Dick and Kanno spend slow, tantalizing days falling in love.
Then Dick discovers that Kanno’s love was paid for by his businessmen hosts. Sensing his rage and hurt, Kanno flees in confusion. And, too late, Dick realizes the truth—that she really loved him.
Now, a stranger in a strange, exotic land, he must find her—and seduce her back into his life.
Love her for a night… and you will remember her for a lifetime.
Praise for Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ba...
***
Here's one of those Kirkus reviews I like to scan in consideration of a possible re-read.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
"A goodish distance from the author's In the Heat of the Night, this simple-minded entertainment concerning the Japanese idyll of a gangly Mr. Deeds in the author's land of the rising gorge. Seems that Richard Emmett Seaton is sent by his employer, the industrial firm of Mercer and Doyle, to push through an advantageous deal with a supplier, Matsumoto and Company. Arriving in Japan, Seaton is all eager business until his virgin eyes are set alight by Miss Thousand Spring Blossoms, or Masayo, a geisha. Seaton runs up quite a geisha bill until he finally realizes that Masayo's attentions are metered. Tangle upon tangle as Seaton is courted by others, straightens out Mercer-Matsumoto affairs. Finally, in love with Japan, transferring his professional devotion to Matsumoto & Co., Seaton degeishas Masayo who consents to become his wife. Many ho-ho's as American-Japanese not understand languages; many nice men and ladies; Japanese baths (tee-hee); amiable stereotyper not miss a tlick. Fuji fudge."
***
And a different review - from Kobo.com
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/miss...
Synopsis
"She Broke an Ancient Tradition by Falling in Love
Kanno Masayo, Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms, is the loveliest and most glamorous geisha in all of Japan. Dick Seaton is a shy, handsome American whose business takes him to Japan to close a very big deal. In violation of a timeless taboo, Dick and Kanno spend slow, tantalizing days falling in love.
Then Dick discovers that Kanno’s love was paid for by his businessmen hosts. Sensing his rage and hurt, Kanno flees in confusion. And, too late, Dick realizes the truth—that she really loved him.
Now, a stranger in a strange, exotic land, he must find her—and seduce her back into his life.
Love her for a night… and you will remember her for a lifetime.
Praise for Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms"
February 14, 2014
So let's see here. An ignorant western guy who is completely naive and inexperienced with women moves to Asia for work. He falls for the first pretty face he sees, but is then easily distracted by several other girls who happen along and are nice to him. He goes from professing his undying love and affection for one girl to proposing marriage to another. No one is really honest with anyone else, whether it's just the ignorance at play or deliberate manipulation. There is absolutely no depth to any of the relationships; just stunted emotions and difficulties communicating.
Oh, and apparently all women can be bought in some way. Right. I can't imagine why I didn't like this one...
Oh, and apparently all women can be bought in some way. Right. I can't imagine why I didn't like this one...
July 2, 2022
Written in 1968, this is a bit old-fashioned in style, but tells the story of an American businessman who travels to conduct business with a Japanese company as it is noted that "the Japanese are actually rather good with electronics" (yes, that's a clue that it's dated!). He falls in love with a geisha and has other experiences in this new culture that expand his horizons, leading to a happy ending.
June 30, 2012
Shy, nerdy businessman visits Japan on business, adjusts to a new culture and falls in love. A bit of a period piece, but it holds up well. Worth searching out at library or used book store.
September 11, 2018
World War II is over. Japan is beginning to industrialize. Their factories can create intricate pieces sought by U.S. industries as they dip their toes into becoming global.
Richard Seaton's company needs a precision part. They decide to send an engineer over with the blueprints to oversee production of a prototype. Seaton is sent to Japan, a place he knows nothing about - not the language nor the customs.
Matsumoto Company can make the part. They greet and entertain Richard Seaton as they would any business executive. They barely speak English and no little to nothing about U.S. customs.
Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms is Tokyo's reigning geisha. She is young, very beautiful and trained to be charming. She is expensive.
Richard Seaton, the too tall, gawky, awkward American, ignored by women, falls deeply in love with a geisha who is never supposed to marry.
The book is filled with the sights and sounds of Japan on the cusp between the old and the new. It deals with the clash of two cultures from both points of view: the Japanese and the American, without holding either up to be best, only different. It touches on racial issues.
This book is easy to read. It flows filled with descriptions, yet never bogs down. It's story is memorable, timeless and poignant.
Richard Seaton's company needs a precision part. They decide to send an engineer over with the blueprints to oversee production of a prototype. Seaton is sent to Japan, a place he knows nothing about - not the language nor the customs.
Matsumoto Company can make the part. They greet and entertain Richard Seaton as they would any business executive. They barely speak English and no little to nothing about U.S. customs.
Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms is Tokyo's reigning geisha. She is young, very beautiful and trained to be charming. She is expensive.
Richard Seaton, the too tall, gawky, awkward American, ignored by women, falls deeply in love with a geisha who is never supposed to marry.
The book is filled with the sights and sounds of Japan on the cusp between the old and the new. It deals with the clash of two cultures from both points of view: the Japanese and the American, without holding either up to be best, only different. It touches on racial issues.
This book is easy to read. It flows filled with descriptions, yet never bogs down. It's story is memorable, timeless and poignant.
April 30, 2019
I read this book more than 20 years ago and enjoyed it so much that I decided to keep the book and read it again "sometime". It was stuck in a box during a move and was in limbo until I recently rediscovered its hiding place and finally got to read it again. It had been so long that I remembered very little of the story. I found it to be utterly charming. I enjoyed every moment of my time spent with the various characters and did a 3 hour read in the wee hours of the morning to finish it as did not want to put it aside. I also enjoyed reading about some of the Japanese culture and customs of the time period. As successful as this author was with his better known books, I would have loved to have read more like this one. I see that it is available in various digital formats so it is available for those interested in trying it. If you like a clean simple romance this one might be for you.
November 4, 2020
This is a very sweet and beautifully-written book by the same author who wrote In the Heat of the Night. This book is very different. It was published in 1964, so it is very dated to that time ... both for America and Japan. It is basically a love story, but it is very educational about the differences between American and Japanese culture during this time. Fifty-six years later, these cultures have greatly changed,but the differences in culture are still important to understand. I love how the author shows full respect for both cultures and how the characters respect the fact that they are different, but both valuable. We need more of this today!
May 13, 2022
This is one of my favorite books, the kind I like to re-read when I need a break from the current crop of new fiction, which has left me underwhelmed lately. It’s not only the gentle love story of a shy Boston engineer and a beautiful geisha; it’s also an interesting and eye-opening look at 1960s Japanese business practices and cultural norms. A gem!
June 28, 2019
Amusing book, I love the insight into the Japanese culture, with a happy ending of course. Just what I needed.
April 9, 2020
A romance story that is timeless!
I read this as a real book back in the 80's. Rereading it again. I will have to read John Ball again. A fan!
I read this as a real book back in the 80's. Rereading it again. I will have to read John Ball again. A fan!
January 13, 2024
Years ago, a friend suggested this book. I’ve read it every few years. John Ball takes you to Japan. His description is so artistic, I felt I was there with Dick Seaton. The love story is brilliant. But it is so layered with descriptive characters, I felt they were friends. And hoped all the best for them. Had forgotten how captivating this book is. One night, I read until 3:00 in the morning. My friend was able to find a copy at a book sale, so I now have this in my own library. 😊
May 24, 2009
This was probably one of the first romances I read, and I did not recognize it as part of the genre at that time. I have always had a weakness for the book. Ball is not known for romances, to the best of knowledge, and it probably would not read as such to people only familiar with today's style. It's base on a true incident, and I find the story touching.
January 20, 2009
A nice love story about a businessman who finds love in a culture (Post-war Japan) he is unfamiliar with.
October 6, 2012
This book was actually good. I didn't expect that from a 1960's author. It showed me a glimpse of the whole Geisha business in Japan and about international love as well :)
August 10, 2014
This was an obscure little book my mother and I ran across years ago. It was really really good. I'd love to find a copy one day because I loaned mine out, and now it's gone.
November 30, 2014
A Beautiful, Memorable Love Story!
July 10, 2024
love it!!!!
August 21, 2023
4★彡 A sweet love story. A cultural eye-opener, too. But it's also quite dated (pub. 1968).
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews