GAIL TSUKIYAMA

Photo by J.K. Yamamoto

The University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim presents am interview and book signing with Gail Tsukiyama, author of The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 5:45 p.m., in Fromm Hall on the USF Main Campus.

Enter from Parker Street between Golden Gate and Fulton streets.

Tsukiyama is known as a mesmerizing storyteller who focuses on family, tradition, and the solace of nature. Of both Chinese and Japanese descent, she has explored the history and culture of both lands in her previous novels, including Women of the Silk and The Samurai’s Garden.

In her new novel, she tells the story of two orphaned boys raised by their loving grandparents on prewar Tokyo’s Street of a Thousand Blossoms. The war, particularly the Tokyo firebombing, followed by the American occupation and the rapid rise of modern Japan, shape the lives of the two brothers and the women who love them.

The orphans embark on opposite careers, one in sumo wrestling and the other mask-making for noh theater. Tsukiyama evokes a vision of a blasted world returning to life.

Patrick Lloyd Hatcher, Ph.D., a Kiriyama Distinguished Fellow at the USF Center for the Pacific Rim, will conduct the interview. A book-signing will follow.

This event is free and open to the public, however reservations are strongly recommended. Call (415) 422-6828.

The event is co-sponsored by the Japan Society of Northern California, Mechanics’ Institute, Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning, USF Asian American Studies Program, and USF’s MFA in Writing Program, and is funded by the Kiriyama Chair for Pacific Rim Studies at USF.

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