Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain (Hardcover)

by Martha Sherrill (Author) "The house is hard to see, low and camouflaged by foliage, encased in green, almost swallowed whole by nature..." (more)
Key Phrases: forest inspector, lost his tail, dog crowd, Samurai Tiger, Three Good Lucks, Masutaro Ito (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Morie Sawataishi had never owned a dog, but in 1944, when the Japanese man was 30 years old, the desire for one came over him like a sudden... craving. During WWII, snow country dogs were being slaughtered for pelts to line officers' coats; working for Mitsubishi in the remote snow country, Morie decided to rescue Japan's noble, ancient Akita breed—whose numbers had already dwindled before the war—from certain extinction. Raised in an elegant Tokyo neighborhood, his long-suffering wife, Kitako, hated country life, and his children resented the affection he lavished on his dogs rather than on them. The book brims with colorful characters, both human and canine: sweet-tempered redhead Three Good Lucks, who may have been poisoned to death by a rival dog owner; high-spirited One Hundred Tigers, who lost his tail in an accident; and wild mountain man Uesugi. To Western readers Morie's single-mindedness may seem selfish and Kitako's passivity in the face of his stubbornness incomprehensible, but former Washington Post staffer Sherrill (The Buddha from Brooklyn) imbues their traditional Japanese lifestyle with dignity, and Morie's adventures (he is now 94) should be enjoyed by dog lovers, breeders and trainers. B&w photos. (Mar. 3)
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From Booklist
One day in 1944, in the midst of World War II Japan, with people suffering and starving around him, Morie Sawataishi heard something troubling. The country people of Akita Prefecture were killing their dogs and selling their pelts to the military in order to line the winter coats of officers. The Akita dog, already dwindling in numbers as it fell out of favor, neared extinction. When an acquaintance offered him a puppy, Morie could not resist buying her and later purchased a male for breeding after he was able to verify the existence of only 16 other Akita dogs. Sherrill tells the story not only of the salvation of an ancient breed of dog but also of the complicated man who loved them and of his Tokyo-born wife, who had to learn country ways and how to love dogs. Throughout the book, the changes in postwar Japan are woven into the narrative, along with tales of Morie’s Akitas. --Nancy Bent

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (February 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594201242
• ISBN-13: 978-1594201240
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #35 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Adventurers & Explorers
  #67 in	Books > Home & Garden > Animal Care & Pets > Dogs > Breeds

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare treasure, March 13, 2008

By	H. Bryant Pierpont "bryantp" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a rare treasure. As a dog lover, an amateur student of Japanese history, and a resident of Japan, I found it irresistable. It provides great information about a relatively unknown place in Japan, even to Japanese folks. It also chronicles a period of time in Japanese history from an unusual vantage point. The book is an excellent book for dog lovers, but it's about much more than that. It details incredible human relationships in tight, hypnotic verse, it tells about the most beautiful areas in Japan, and it tells about the changing dynamics of Japanese marriage. I read it from cover to cover, totally unable to put it down. A must read!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Into the Wild, but more hopeful. AKITAS RULE!, March 27, 2008

By	R. Boyd (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let's get this out of the way right up front... We are Akita owners so we are slightly biased. Martha Sherrill does a wonderful job capturing the essence of the breed and tells an amazing story. You rarely hear her voice in the telling, but you feel well guided through the tale. As an author she was wise to stay out of the way of this amazing tale of a man who wants, and ultimately led, the simple life. In "Dog Man", Morie remained true to himself and his particular view of the world. He was not without his faults, but his wife, dogs, and yes, even his children loved him. His legacy is one of creation. What Morie created, his dogs, mountain retreat and legacy of kindness resonates with those hoping for something more from the world. In fact, the book makes such an impression, that a different outcome for "Into the Wild" might have occurred had this book been available...

For me... maybe one day my partner and I will end up with our own tin roofed cabin in a spot of the world that takes your breath away. Of course when I say "cabin of our own" that includes an Akita sleeping on the bed. Morie and Uesugi would not have approved of an Akita in the bed, but I bet Kitako would not mind so much!

Thank you Martha Sherrill for writing this book. Even though it is only March, I now know what our friends will be getting for Christmas this year.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: Dog Man by Martha Sherrill, March 7, 2008

By	J. Stembridge - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dog Man: An Uncommon Life On a Faraway Mountain by Martha Sherrill The Penguin Press New York 2008 (Hardbound, ISBN 978-1-59420-124-0, $25.95)

Reveiwed by Jim Stembridge

Morie (Mor-ee-ay) Sawataishi is living an honorable life, some would say a spare existence, in the far north forests of Japan. Aside from episodes involving his pre-World-War-II stint with the Japanese navy in Manchuria, and his hydro-electric dam project management with the Japanese giant Mitsubishi, the chapters of Morie's life can be seen in the succession of his dogs. We follow Morie's life on the edge of the forest, spare of luxuries, but rich in close symbiosis with a beautiful, if rugged, part of the world.

Morie, during the strife of the World War, decided that it was his destiny to save and propagate the iconic Japanese dog breed, the Akita. But the few Akitas remaining in those early days were ill-defined. Their desirable traits had yet to be agreed-upon, so there was much competition among breeders. Long face? Round face? Long legs? Short? Loose skin? Tight skin? Red with white markings? All white?

For Morie, whose life away from work is all wilderness, primitive living, and hunting, what's desirable in an Akita is kishô, an almost indefinable boldness, courage, loyalty, and presence. But kishô is found only rarely, especially these days, Morie would say, when dogs are bred to look pretty or, worse, to just make money from sale of the puppies. From "No-Name" and "Three Good Lucks" through "Samarai Tiger" and "Shiro", we meet Moriie's Akitas with kishô, and follow Morie's efforts to define and develop the breed.

"Morie and his dogs were heroes every morning, and heroes again every night. With each walk into the wild, they were bold and resourceful. They were alive and alert, their senses acute, poised for the natural excitements that the rest of us must crave when we turn to flickering screens for adventures and when we ache to connect with nature and animals. We yearn for the company of dogs because they return us to an ancient way of life, vanishing now."

Martha Sherrill, whose celebrity profiles were wll known to readers of The Washington Post, did extensive interviews of Morrie and his wife, Kitako, and their adult children, traveling to Japan in 2006. The story's contexts of Japan following the war, Japanese family life, dog breeding, and rural electrification seem genuine. The result is an endearing story of an honorable life--dreamy descriptions, written in spare, precise language, bold and resourceful---kishô.

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