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Japanese Magnolia
Adult Reading Audience
"Japanese Magnolia" is the true forbidden love story of two men, a samurai and peasant in Edo Japan.
Can a Japanese samurai of impeccable lineage in Edo period Japan get away with being gay? Can he break all the rules of society and get away with it?
It all started when an aging samurai took an eccentric interest in a teenage peasant boy who had the unusual gift of writing and one day he brought his son, Lord Okimoto to the peasant's house. The eyes of the samurai's son and the teenage peasant met and spawned a forbidden love affair which broke all the rules of Japan's Edo period society and a feudal class so sharply defined that it could cut like a knife.
Four centuries later, an ancestor of Lord Okimoto finds a diary written by his peasant lover unfolding the anguished tale of a forbidden life went wrong, leaving behind a trail of destroyed lives, broken dreams and a few deaths.
The spirit of the gay samurai who put duty and obligations above his poignant love travels one whole circle to arrive to the 21st century in a final twist to this intriguing story of how two young men dared to break all the rules in conservative unforgiving 18th century Japan.
"Japanese Magnolia" is the true forbidden love story of two men, a samurai and peasant in Edo Japan.
Can a Japanese samurai of impeccable lineage in Edo period Japan get away with being gay? Can he break all the rules of society and get away with it?
It all started when an aging samurai took an eccentric interest in a teenage peasant boy who had the unusual gift of writing and one day he brought his son, Lord Okimoto to the peasant's house. The eyes of the samurai's son and the teenage peasant met and spawned a forbidden love affair which broke all the rules of Japan's Edo period society and a feudal class so sharply defined that it could cut like a knife.
Four centuries later, an ancestor of Lord Okimoto finds a diary written by his peasant lover unfolding the anguished tale of a forbidden life went wrong, leaving behind a trail of destroyed lives, broken dreams and a few deaths.
The spirit of the gay samurai who put duty and obligations above his poignant love travels one whole circle to arrive to the 21st century in a final twist to this intriguing story of how two young men dared to break all the rules in conservative unforgiving 18th century Japan.
245 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2009
3 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Rei Kimura
22 books21 followersRei Kimura is a lawyer with a passion for writing about unique events and personalities. She has adopted an interesting style of creating stories around true events and the lives of real people in a number of her books, believing that is the best way of making hidden historical events and people come alive for 21st century readers.
With this objective in mind, Rei has touched on historical events like the horrific sinking of the Awa Maru and the Kamikaze pilots of World War II and woven them into touching stories of the people who lived and died through these events.
Then there are stories of courage, love and rejection beautifully portrayed in “Butterfly In the Wind” a story of the concubine of Townsend Harris, first American consul to Japan, set against the colorful and turbulent era of the Black Ships. This book has touched the hearts of many and been translated into languages from Spanish, Polish, Russian, Dutch to Thai, Hindi, Indonesian, Marathi.
Rei's writing also touches on interesting issues like that raised in “Japanese Magnolia” a book based on the true story of two men, a samurai and a peasant who dared to cross two forbidden areas in feudal Japan, that of homosexuality and a class society “so sharply defined it cut like a knife.”
Other controversial stories she has written include “Japanese Rose” a book which asked the question was there ever a Japanese female kamikaze pilot in the Second World War?
But it's not all history and culture, she also writes on contemporary events like “Aum Shinrikyo-Japan’s Unholy Sect” an expose of the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Occasionally, her love for animals and sense of humor surfaces in this very heart warming and delightful story of a rogue Pomeranian dog, “My Name is Eric,” a complete departure from Rei’s normal story lines but nevertheless, a refreshing one!
Kimura considers her writing as part of the perennial quest for truth, challenge and fulfillment. Her books have been translated into various Asian and European languages and widely read all over the world.
Apart from being a lawyer, Rei Kimura is also a qualified freelance journalist and is associated with the Australian News Syndicate.
With this objective in mind, Rei has touched on historical events like the horrific sinking of the Awa Maru and the Kamikaze pilots of World War II and woven them into touching stories of the people who lived and died through these events.
Then there are stories of courage, love and rejection beautifully portrayed in “Butterfly In the Wind” a story of the concubine of Townsend Harris, first American consul to Japan, set against the colorful and turbulent era of the Black Ships. This book has touched the hearts of many and been translated into languages from Spanish, Polish, Russian, Dutch to Thai, Hindi, Indonesian, Marathi.
Rei's writing also touches on interesting issues like that raised in “Japanese Magnolia” a book based on the true story of two men, a samurai and a peasant who dared to cross two forbidden areas in feudal Japan, that of homosexuality and a class society “so sharply defined it cut like a knife.”
Other controversial stories she has written include “Japanese Rose” a book which asked the question was there ever a Japanese female kamikaze pilot in the Second World War?
But it's not all history and culture, she also writes on contemporary events like “Aum Shinrikyo-Japan’s Unholy Sect” an expose of the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Occasionally, her love for animals and sense of humor surfaces in this very heart warming and delightful story of a rogue Pomeranian dog, “My Name is Eric,” a complete departure from Rei’s normal story lines but nevertheless, a refreshing one!
Kimura considers her writing as part of the perennial quest for truth, challenge and fulfillment. Her books have been translated into various Asian and European languages and widely read all over the world.
Apart from being a lawyer, Rei Kimura is also a qualified freelance journalist and is associated with the Australian News Syndicate.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 13, 2020
One cannot help but wonder if pursuing a relationship that you know goes against all the rules and morals implemented by the society and the people who strictly adhere to them, would in any way have a happy ending.
A forbidden love affair goes horribly wrong after they get caught by the Samurai's mother. The Samurai gets married to woman as arranged and the peasant is forced to marry a girl to get his mind of the Samurai.
The story lacks an insight to Edo era or the life in general. Kimura brushes a dainty tale of taboo love which, quite frankly, could easily be set in modern times. Take away the rice fields and put thousands of cubicles in that place. Call the feudal lords as mega corporate players and you'll have the exact same story. It is hard to tell if the linguistic beauty of the era is lost in translation. The honorifics, the words used by different classes of the society don't get a mention here. I do want to give Kimura benefit of the doubt here since the writing comes off completely flat and toneless for most part of the narration.
If you've already read Kawabata and such, give this one a pass.
A forbidden love affair goes horribly wrong after they get caught by the Samurai's mother. The Samurai gets married to woman as arranged and the peasant is forced to marry a girl to get his mind of the Samurai.
The story lacks an insight to Edo era or the life in general. Kimura brushes a dainty tale of taboo love which, quite frankly, could easily be set in modern times. Take away the rice fields and put thousands of cubicles in that place. Call the feudal lords as mega corporate players and you'll have the exact same story. It is hard to tell if the linguistic beauty of the era is lost in translation. The honorifics, the words used by different classes of the society don't get a mention here. I do want to give Kimura benefit of the doubt here since the writing comes off completely flat and toneless for most part of the narration.
If you've already read Kawabata and such, give this one a pass.
December 21, 2024
A 5/5 FOR SUREEE
VERY WELL WRITTEN
Contains complex emotions, Like Edo time and being a homosexual so fricking beautiful
tragic LOVED IT LOVED IT
SAD BEAUTIFUL TRAGIC FOR SURE
Cried hardd!!
WOULD DEFFO RECOMMENDD
VERY WELL WRITTEN
Contains complex emotions, Like Edo time and being a homosexual so fricking beautiful
tragic LOVED IT LOVED IT
SAD BEAUTIFUL TRAGIC FOR SURE
Cried hardd!!
WOULD DEFFO RECOMMENDD
April 24, 2015
Heart-wrenching story of a Japanese samurai and a son of a peasant... very difficult life to lead for both of them. The way they become victim of their own self
January 2, 2016
It's a must read, the pain in it will haunt you. Love. in general, must not suffer such an ill fate. My first experience with a queer novel left me sad and shaky.
March 10, 2013
One of the most fucked up stories I've ever read. Victims are blamed.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews