Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain | Martha Sherrill

Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain | Martha Sherrill | Excellent book!

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Dog Man: An Uncomm...

	Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain Martha Sherrill Penguin Press HC, The, 2008 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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 country As 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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My favorite dog.

I have read the other reviews written by Amazon readers and am so impressed with them. For my part, I agree with the others, and then some. I found that Morie and Kitako are elegant and honorable, much as their dogs were. As with any book one reads and thoroughly enjoys, I dreaded that the words would end and I took my time with every story. I found hardship, honesty, love, respect and great adventure within this book's pages. The children that Morie and Kitako raised are also an interesting bunch. Samarai Tiger is my favorite dog, bigger than life. I would like to meet Shiro and would have loved to know Hoku.

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Excellent book!

This book is a great book for a Akita owner. The author gives you lots of insight into the Akita behavior. Being a Akita owner, I found the book enlightening and a joy to read. This book is a must for any Akita owner or anyone considering a Akita.

I read this book standing up at the public library.

I had to leave it at the library because i wanted to leave it for my friend who i intended to send right down to check it out. It's about an eccentric in a culture not known for eccentrics. It's about his wife and family. His wife is a stoic and her relationship with her husband is like reading science fiction to a 21st century American. The dogs are great. Great. Please do not go out and buy an Akita though. This is a lot of dog. A whole lot of dog. They almost need a mountain.

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A Different Kind of Life

I don't own an Akita, but this book caught my eye because it was a different kind of story. The subjects of sexual discrimination, poverty, wartime in Japan, and the Morie's singlemindedness in raising dogs are explored. If you love Akitas, you'll love this book. If you're not a dog person, you'll like this book, but may not go ga-ga over it. I thought the writer jumped around a bit in telling the story, and could have been better with the continuity. But all in all, I recommend this interesting look at a life far different from ours in America.

Dogs, history, humanity

I bought this book for my brother, who loves dogs as much as I do. When he finished it, he sent it back, so I read it as well, and we both enjoyed it. This is a very sweet book which makes a great gift book for someone who loves dogs, someone who loves Japan and its history, and especially for someone who loves both. I would have liked to see Penguin go the extra mile for Martha Sherrill and spring for glossy pages for the many great photos in the book, but that would be my only criticism.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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