Yokohama, a quiet fishing village when Commodore Matthew Perry
arrived with his gunboat diplomacy in the mid-1800s, was quickly
transformed into a bustling port for international trade. The
change brought affluent foreigners to the city but also mobilized
Japanese nationalist hostilities. It was in this setting that Ron
and Martin Baenninger's Canadian mother and Swiss father met in
1933. Relying on Ron's early memories, their mother's diary, and
the acute memory of their father, who lived to be over one hundred,
the Baenningers recount the initial years of their parents'
marriage and provide glimpses into relations between Japan and the
West from the turn of the century to the onset of the Second World
War. In their earliest years together the young couple enjoyed a
rich social life, travelling freely between Canada, Switzerland,
and Japan, although aware of the political turmoil slowing
unfolding around them. The outbreak of the war between Japan and
the United States and allied powers brought their privileged
lifestyle to an end. In August 1942 they escaped internment with
their young son aboard the Kamakura Maru - one of the many exchange
ships assigned to bring foreign nationals home and the last
evacuation vessel from Japan - and negotiated their way through
war-torn areas to reach Canada four months later. In the Eye of the
Wind - both a deeply personal account of one family and a unique
perspective on the politically turbulent atmosphere of pre-war
Japan - will interest anyone seeking to learn more about a
tumultuous period in an extraordinary place.
General
Imprint: |
McGill-Queen's University Press
|
Country of origin: |
Canada |
Series: |
Footprints Series |
Release date: |
March 2009 |
First published: |
April 2009 |
Authors: |
Ron Baenninger
• Martin Baenninger
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 23mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
208 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-7735-3497-1 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-7735-3497-0 |
Barcode: |
9780773534971 |
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