Rating: 5 out of 5
The first volume in this momentous series is always the slowest, not for the time that passes, but for the events that take place. I’ve often wondered here about the inclusion of the third protagonist, Masaoka Shiki, and though the descriptions given here are illuminating enough about what he did, it seems that some leap of the poetry is too far for me to appreciate.
Beyond this, I was taken aback this time by the well-roundedness of how the author described events and situations. When Mr Shiva shows his characters to be masters of understanding general principles from small events, the author uses that same skill to dissect politics and military affairs for the least well informed reader. In such a way, we learn about imperialism, Russia’s internal politics, the Meiji Revolution, Qing China, and many other topics.
The two other main protagonists we learn about first, the catalysts of this story, Akiyama Yoshifuru and Akiyama Saneyuki, are not as interesting here in the next volumes, but their early studies present a much more illuminating image of their Japan than the war that’s about to ensue.
I’m a big fan of the author and the series, and reading this again only reaffirms my opinion (previous review here).
