Bridge to the Sun [Paperback]

Gwen Terasaki (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1984

A beautiful and true love story of the international and interracial 1931 marriage of a Japanese diolomat and an American girl from the mountain of Tennessee. Mrs. Terasaki describes with rare perception and fine humor her months of internment following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and her long voyage back to Japan. Living out the war years in Japan, Mrs. Terasaki encountered illness and near starvation but experienced only kindness, courtesy and sympathy from the Japanese of her adopted country. With accuracy and compassion, she portrays the living conditions, the Japanese character and customs and the personal privatons of a people deteriorating as a nation in defeat. Their constant dream was of a "rainbow across the Pacific" in which Japan and the United States would be joined by a bridge of peace.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle Company (1984)
• ISBN-10: 4805303050
• ISBN-13: 978-4805303054
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,973,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great historical piece, OK as literature, December 29, 2002

By 

Paul Wang (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bridge to the Sun (Hardcover)

As literature, this book is not the best. However, as a historical first-hand document that recounts a personal, interesting, and very unique story, this is superb. This book may not read easily for some since the writing style can be a little scattered. This characteristic, though, reveals a rawness in the writing. Terasaki is genuine, and she opens a window to many intriguing subjects. These subjects include: foreign policy between Japan and America surrounding World War II, cultural contrasts between the two countries, perspectives on love, the life of ambassadors in the WWII era, Japanese perspectives on Americans in that era (and vice-versa), the treatment of the different classes of people in Japan, separation of civilians and government, Japanese WWII propaganda strategies, Japanese military actions in China before the US entered the war, Japanese perspectives on the American occupation after the surrender, and so much more. This text contains plenty of substance, even if not in a most polished form. I would recommend borrowing a copy through your local library rather than paying $$ for it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mariko alive and well and writing her own book!, May 26, 2004

By 

"doloryn" (Douglas, WY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bridge to the Sun (Hardcover)

I attended Mariko Miller's lectures about her family and just had to have the book. For those who want to know major events since, Mr. Terasaki was the liaison after WWII between Emperor Hirohito and MacArthur. He was "writing" a book during this period, but when Mariko got it translated from the court Japanese to the more common dialect, it proved to be much more valuable. Publicly Emperor Hirohito said very little about WWII. He dictated his thoughts on it to Terasaki instead. Terasaki's book proved to be an invaluable historical document. Mariko lives in Wyoming and is writing her own book. She mentioned in her lectures how easy it was to figure out where her parents were on a given day and time in the days leading up to WWII. She just requested their FBI files and it was all there. Keep an eye out for Mariko Miller's book. It should be even better than BRIDGE TO THE SUN.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Insightful Account of Japan and the Japanese, June 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bridge to the Sun (Paperback)

Having lived in the modern Japan for 10+ years, I was impressed by how beautifully Mrs. Terasaki captured the spirit of Japan, and somewhat jealous that she experienced things (I don't mean the war, mind you) difficult to find today. This is a great book, and my only complaint is that she didn't write more.

Incidentally, I actually found out about this book from a Japanese mini-series that was re-broadcast recently called "Mariko". It had a few more details not found in the book, such as the fact that Mr. Terasaki used phrases regarding Mariko (esp. "Mariko is not well today") as a code with his brother and others in Tokyo to relay how discussions were progressing during the tense time right before the Pearl Harbor attack. Also, I found out that Mariko is alive and well and living in the US.