School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-An author's note explains that in 17th- and 18th-century Japan, provincial governors were required to divide their time between Kyoto, home of the Emperor, and Edo (modern Tokyo), where the Shogun exercised temporal power. Accompanied by numerous retainers, these feudal lords frequently traveled the 300-mile Tokaido Road, stopping at inns and teahouses built to accommodate their retinue. A famous series of woodcuts by Japanese printmaker Utagawa Hiroshige, depicting the landscapes they traversed, inspired Whelan to imagine this journey as seen through the eyes of Yuki, a governor's young daughter, who travels with her mother and small dog. Their party, with its 1000 carriers, passes over a river, through snowy mountains, and beside the ocean, where Mt. Fuji rises in the distance. Yuki describes the sights she sees through the shuttered windows of her palanquin, as well as the food and accommodations along the way. The haiku she writes at the request of her teacher are interspersed throughout the first-person narrative. These brief poems chart her homesickness and eventual acceptance of change. The handsome, well-composed watercolor illustrations, executed in subtle shades and reminiscent of Japanese woodcuts, lend specificity to the tale. A useful supplement to curriculums focusing on Japan.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.