Spring Castle - by Ishimure (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A magnificent historical novel extolling the virtues and exposing the vices of human beings." --Sajed Kamal, author, artist, and sustainability educator

The Untold Story of the Christian Rebellion That Changed Japanese History:

Spring Castle is the epic story of Japan's bloody Shimabara Rebellion, told through the eyes of the Japanese peasants and former samurai who rose up against oppression with extraordinary bravery. Facing religious persecution, merciless taxation, drought and famine, 37,000 ordinary men, women and children led by a charismatic teenage boy named Shiro Masuda occupy an abandoned castle, only to be ruthlessly slaughtered by the Shogun's army.

History books have retold this story countless times, but renowned novelist Michiko Ishimure spent fifty years imaginatively reconstructing the lives, thoughts, fears and dreams of the forgotten people who perished that day--likely including her own ancestors. With great sensitivity, Ishimure depicts the religious awakening and struggles of a large cast of characters who gradually come to recognize that they have no choice but to fight for their freedom and dignity.

As translator Bruce Allen writes, "Ishimure devoted her life to telling the stories of people whose lives were threatened by society's desire for material progress. This book provides a requiem for the victims of this process, along with a call for recognition, reconciliation, and renewal."

Review Quotes

"Michiko Ishimure is one of the greatest writers of modern Japanese literature. [...] Her work is a wonderful fusion of orthodox written literature and the oral literary tradition that has been largely pushed aside. Spring Castle is her most powerful work, bringing to the forefront the voices of the people and the ways in which they lived." --Hiromi Ito, feminist author & poet

"... In her novel, Spring Castle, Ishimure Michiko offers fresh insights into one of the most significant milestones in this history: the Christians' last stand at the so-called Shimabara Rebellion (1637-38) which saw the round-up and execution of some 37,000 sympathizers to the cause. With this elegant translation, Allen makes available in English for the first time Ishimure's literary reconstruction of the backdrop to this drama." --Mark Williams, Vice President, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan

"An eloquent translation of Ishimure's most powerful novel, Spring Castle takes readers on a fascinating journey back to the 17th century, skillfully weaving together narratives that uncannily resonate with many of the challenges facing us today." --Karen L. Thornber, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University

"Bruce Allen has made a superb literary translation of Ishimure Michiko's magnum opus Spring Castle, bringing to life the distinctive spirit and style of her writing." --Ken'ichi Noda, Professor Emeritus, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan

"Bruce Allen has recreated in English Ishimure Michiko's magnum opus Spring Castle, capturing the colloquial intimacy and moral intensity of Ishimure's historical fiction. [...] Readers of previous English translations of Ishimure's works will be thrilled to read this novel, which occupied the imagination of one of Japan's greatest authors for nearly fifty years." --Scott Slovic, University Distinguished Professor, University of Idaho

"Bruce Allen's masterful translation--fluid and engaging--reads as if Spring Castle were written in English. He succeeds in presenting the historical novel as a classic of contemporary relevance." --Sajed Kamal, EdD, poet, artist, literary translator, renewable energy and sustainable development educator

"With Spring Castle, translator Bruce Allen has delivered an extraordinary rendition of renowned author Michiko Ishimure's interpretation of the Shimabara Rebellion. [...] Ishimure is known for her environmental writing and Bruce Allen renders her detailed descriptions of this archipelagic region with precision and poetry, providing readers around the globe with a profound sense of the beauty and diversity of this region that prevails even in the wake of this historic tragedy." --Christine L. Marra, Professor, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota

About the Author

Michiko Ishimure (1927-2018) is regarded as one of Japan's most important modern writers. She published over 50 works ranging from novels, non-fiction, Noh drama and poetry to essays, memoirs and children's stories. She received numerous international and Japanese literary awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award from the Philippines (1973) and the Asahi Prize for literature in Japan (2001). Her best-known work, Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow; Our Minamata Disease (1969), was reprinted over 30 times in Japan and has been translated into English and several other languages. This work, along with several other books focusing on the Minamata Disease incident, led to her being known as the "mother of the Japanese environmental movement" and the "Rachel Carson of Japan."

Bruce Allen is retired Professor of translation and global environmental literature at Seisen University in Tokyo. His translations include Michiko Ishimure's novel Lake of Heaven, Japanese Tales of Fantasy and Folklore, and Toward the Paradise of Flowers, a documentary film on Ishimure. He is editor of Ishimure Michiko's Writing in Ecological Perspective: Between Sea and Sky. His translation of several chapters of Spring Castle was recognized by the Kyoko Iriye Selden Memorial Translation Prize of Cornell University.