The Samurai's Garden By Gail Tsukiyama

Obstacles Are Doors To Happiness

In the historical fiction book The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama revolves around a 20 year old Chinese boy, Stephen. He lives in Hong Kong with his mother and siblings but since he has tuberculosis, gets sent to Tarumi. There he lives in his grandfather’s beach house with their family servant named Matsu. Stephen develops a close relationship with Matsu and Sachi, an old woman who’s a victim of leprosy, and learns about their life and situations. Throughout the course of The Samurai’s Garden, Gail Tsukiyama reveals how Sachi’s experience with leprosy and growing friendship with Stephen teaches her to value her life; to notice the smaller joys in one’s life even when it feels like hardships block your

In the story, Stephen come visits Sachi and she shows him something in her garden. There are these beautiful blue-purple flowers sprouting between two rocks. She tells him it used to remind her of her lost beauty but now she feels differently about them. She says,”And now, Stephen-san, I am thankful of any kind of beauty that may find its way to Yamaguchi. I never dreamed that after all these years I would have the good fortune of to find a new friend such as you”(127). The author specifically uses the word “thankful” to show how Sachi now feels about different types of beauty that come to Yamaguchi. She’s grateful to them and it makes her much happier because to her it symbolises the overcoming of adversity, something she’s dealt with all her life. Tsukiyama relates the flowers to Sachi meeting Stephen in this quote by showing how Sachi quickly switches the topic of the conversation. The author illustrates that just like how Sachi is thankful to those flowers she is also thankful to her “good fortune” of being able to meet Stephen, a friend that has now become very dear to her. When the author uses the phrase “after all these years” it shows how Sachi has been alone for so long that a new person in her life is something she greatly values. Another point in the story that shows Stephen’s importance to Sachi is when he comes to visit her for the last time before he moves back to Hong Kong. Sachi says,”You have been the musuko we lost so many years ago”(205). Here the author uses the japanese word ‘musuko’ which translates to child to convey Sachi’s speech. Sachi feels that Stephen has completed their once lost family, since he cares and loves them (Sachi and Matsu) as if they were his