High school can be brutal, even in Japan in 1890. From his first day at a prestigious Japanese boarding school, sixteen-year-old Toyo sees upperclassmen terrorizing the first-years. He can’t believe the seniors are keeping him from trying out for their baseball team, considering their current shortstop. Toyo wants to prove himself. Meanwhile, he starts questioning many things about his family's samurai background, especially after his uncle's recent death. Will his father be next? As a gulf between he and his father widens, Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family’s samurai values in modern Japan. Baseball just might be the answer, but will his father accept a “Western” game that stands for everything he despises?
We welcome your thoughts and reflections on the questions below.
1. Which of Toyo's core beliefs do you share with him? Are there any that you do not share that you wish you did? Any with which you strongly disagree?
2. Toyo's friendship with Fuji begin to challenge his notion of samurai honor and tradition? Do you have friendships that challenge your own traditions and cultural beliefs?
3. Which character do you relate to most? Why?
4. What do you think of the Samurai traditions of Seppuku and Bushido?
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