Dog Man
by Sherrill, Martha
How one man's consuming passion for dogs saved a legendary breed from extinction and led him to a difficult, more soulful way of life in the wilds of Japan's remote snow countryAs Dog Man opens, Martha Sherrill brings us to a world that Americans know very little about-the snow country of Japan during World War II. In a mountain village, we meet Morie Sawataishi, a fierce individualist who has chosen to break the law by keeping an Akita dog hidden in a shed on his property.During the war, the magnificent and intensely loyal Japanese hunting dogs are donated to help the war effort, eaten, or used to make fur vests for the military. By the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, there are only sixteen Akitas left in the country. The survival of the breed becomes Morie's passion and life, almost a spiritual calling.Devoted to the dogs, Morie is forever changed. His life becomes radically unconventional-almost preposterous-in ultra-ambitious, conformist Japan. For the dogs, Morie passes up promotions, bigger houses, and prestigious engineering jobs in Tokyo. Instead, he raises a family with his young wife, Kitako-a sheltered urban sophisticate-in Japan's remote and forbidding snow country.Their village is isolated, but interesting characters are always dropping by-dog buddies, in-laws from Tokyo, and a barefoot hunter who lives in the wild. Due in part to Morie's perseverance and passion, the Akita breed strengthens and becomes wildly popular, sometimes selling for millions of yen. Yet Morie won't sell his spectacular dogs. He only likes to give them away.Morie and Kitako remain in the snow country today, living in the traditional Japanese cottage they designed together more than thirty years ago-with tatami mats, an overhanging roof, a deep bathtub, and no central heat. At ninety-four years old, Morie still raises and trains the Akita dogs that have come to symbolize his life.In beautiful prose that is a joy to read, Martha Sherrill opens up the world of the Dog Man and his wife, providing a profound look at what it is to be an individualist in a culture that reveres conformity-and what it means to live life in one's own way, while expertly revealing Japan and Japanese culture as we've never seen it before.
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Dog Man : An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain
by Martha Sherrill
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Dog Man: An Uncommon Life On A Faraway Mountain
by Sherrill, Martha
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New York: Penguin Press. Hardcover. 2008. 1st Edition. 8vo 237pp . Fine in Very Good+ DJ. B&W Photographs. DJ inner front flap upper corner slightly creased . The story of Morie Sawataishi. A story of a hard life and dedication to preserving the traditional Akita dog breed in the mountains of Japan . Item Price
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Penguin Press, 2008. First Edition. Hardcover. Like New/Fine. 6x0x9. Some light edgewear to dustjacket. At the end of World War II, there were only 16 Akita dogs left in Japan. Morie Sawataishi became obsessed with preventing the extinction of the 4,000-year-old Japanese dog breed. He defied convention, broke the law, gave up a prestigious job, and chose instead… Read more about this item Item Price
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New York: Penguin Press, 2008. 1st ed.. Hardback octavo, dustjacket, very good condition (in very good dustjacket), black & white text-photos, bottom edge & flap creased jacket. 239 pp. Stunning portrait of the Japanese man who single-handedly rescued the 4,000-year-old Akita dog breed. At the end of WW2, there were only 16 Akita dogs left in Japan. Morie Sawataishi… Read more about this item Item Price
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