It’s 1939 and two orphaned brothers are living with their grandparents in Tokyo. One is obsessed with sumo wrestling and the other with creating hand carved masks for the Noh theatre. The boys both begin apprenticeships to pursue their dreams but with the onset of war everything changes. Spanning nearly thirty years, from the Second World War to its aftermath in Japan, the lives of the two brothers and their families take shape during a frightening and difficult time. And yet an element of hope and the promise of renewal run throughout most of the novel.

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms is a moving story of love and family, of tradition and change, and of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.

Samarra Hyde is Book Group Program Manager at CAE