Title: Born In The Year Of Courage
Author: Emily Crofford
Publisher: Carolrhoda Book, Inc
Date: 1991
Pages: 160
Born In The Year Of Courage (book review)
The author, Emily Crofford, writes the story of Nakahama Manjiro, a Japanese boy who grows up away from his family and many interesting adventures in life. The story takes place in the early 1800s and the boy is only a young teenager in the beginning.
Nakahama Manjiro
It begins with Manjiro and some other boys going out fishing in a boat into an area they were not supposed to be. While out a storm comes up and their boat gets destroyed and they become stranded upon an island with no known inhabitants. After some time being on the island, they are picked up by some sailors on an American whaling ship.
During their stay on the ship, Manjiro learns to speak English and how to be a sailor. Going through many different situations in life, Manjiro in the end is able to help his home country of Japan.
One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is learning some of the Japanese culture during that timeframe. Up until the point of Manjiro growing up, Japan had been a very isolated country and stuck only to themselves. Through his work Japan begins to open up to outsiders.
This is an easy book to read and flows very well. One can feel the fears and angers that Manjiro and his friends have in some difficult situations.
The amazing thing is that this is a true story. There are some statues erected in Japan honoring Manjiro. He is also considered to be the first Japanese person to set foot in America. Because of his experience, the culture in Japan changes dramatically.
Nakahama Manjiro statue in Japan
I recommend reading this book, especially if you are interested in some of the Japanese culture. However, it is not Christian in any way. There are a few occasions where sailors talk about God a little, but Manjiro does not ever become a believer.
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