The Easy Life in Kamusari (Forest)

About this book

From Shion Miura the award-winning author of The Great Passage comes a rapturous novel where the contemporary and the traditional meet amid the splendor of Japans mountain way of life. Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him against his will in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone no internet no shopping. Just a small inviting community where the most common expression is take it easy. At first Yuki is exhausted fumbles with the tools asks silly questions and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull. Yuki learns to fell trees and plant saplings. He begins to embrace local festivals hes mesmerized by legends of the mountain and he might be falling in love. In learning to respect the forest on Mt. Kamusari for its majestic qualities and its inexplicable secrets Yuki starts to appreciate Kamusaris harmony with nature and its ancient traditions. In this warm and lively coming-of-age story Miura transports us from the trappings of city life to the trials mysteries and delights of a mythical mountain forest.