The Last Tea Bowl Thief
Page 31
Takanori – Yakibō’s mentor, Shigaraki-ware pottery master, friend of Rinkan-rōshi
Hattsan – Yakibō’s apprentice
Lord Inaba – head of the Kyoto region’s ruling family, commander of Yodo Castle
Uchida – head priest of Heizan-ji Temple in Shigaraki, friend of Yakibō
PRESENT DAY
OKUDA family
Owners of the Okuda restaurant supply pottery store
Nori Okuda – granddaughter
Chiyo Okuda – grandmother, current proprietor (also called O-baa-san or the more familiar ’Baa-chan by her granddaughter)
ITOH family
Owners of the rival restaurant supply store next door
Tetsu Itoh – current proprietor, same generation as Chiyo Okuda (’Baa-chan)
MIURA family
Pawnbrokers
Miura (Senior) – grandfather, current proprietor
Mariko – Miura’s daughter
Daiki – Miura’s thirteen-year-old grandson
HAYASHI family
Ceramics makers, owners of Hayashi Ceramics in Shigaraki
Mamoru – eleven-year-old son, descendent of Yakibō’s apprentice, Hattsan
FUJIMORI FINE ART
Auction house
Eriko Hashimoto – art expert, specializing in Japanese ceramics
Robin Swann – assistant to Eriko Hashimoto
Fujimori – auction house owner
OTHERS
Anzai – Tokyo Metropolitan Police Inspector
Haneda – archivist at Senkō-ji Temple, son of the head priest
Uchida – current head priest (o-bōsan) of Heizan-ji Temple in Shigaraki, descendent of the Uchida-bosan who was Yakibō’s friend
GLOSSARY OF JAPANESE WORDS AND PHRASES
JAPANESE PHRASES:
“Haji-memashi-te” —Formal greeting when people meet for the first time
“Irasshai-ma-se!” —”Welcome to my shop/restaurant.” Greeting when someone arrives at a shop (used only in commercial situations)
“Ita-daki-masu” —”I humbly receive this food.” Typically said before eating, like grace
“Kanpai!” —”Cheers!” Typical drinking toast
“Moshi-moshi” —What people say when they answer their phones
“O-kaeri” —Acknowledgment that someone has just come home. Meaning: “Welcome home”
“O-tsuka-re sama-deshita.” —”Thank you for working hard today.” Typical end-of-work departing words, said to coworkers. Colleagues often shorten it to the more casual, “O-tsu-kare-sama.” Literal meaning: “You really became tired by working so honorably.”
JAPANESE WORDS:
butsumetsu —The least lucky day in the Japanese astrology calendar. It’s bad luck to do anything on this day (except have a funeral)
daimyō —A regional warlord serving under the shogun in the samurai era
hanko —The small personal seal used instead of a signature in Japan
kami-sama —Shinto gods, worshipped at Japanese shrines
kanji —The multi-stroked characters used to represent Japanese words
kintsugi —The art of repairing broken pottery by sticking the pieces back together with gold
mon —The smallest unit of money in the Edo Period
nihongami —A traditional Japanese woman’s hairstyle featuring rolled and pinned sections, often decorated with combs and seasonal ornaments (now worn mostly by geisha )
o-baa-san —Grandmother
obi —The wide sash worn with a kimono
o-jii-san —Grandfather
o-kaa-san —Mother
onigiri —A sticky rice ball, usually wrapped in seaweed with a savory filling
o-soji —The deep housecleaning that takes place once a year before New Years
seiza —Sitting on folded legs with back straight and feet tucked under your body
sensho —A day in the Japanese astrology calendar that predicts good luck all morning, but bad luck after noon
shimenawa —A rice straw rope that marks an area or natural feature as sacred to the Shinto gods
shogun —Military dictator who governed Japan during the samurai era. The emperor was still the official ruler, but he had no political power
shoji —Old-fashioned Japanese sliding windows/doors, framed with wood and covered with paper instead of glass
taian —The luckiest day in the Japanese astrology calendar. Taian brings good luck all day to any endeavor (except having a funeral, which should be avoided)
tokonoma —A built-in floor-to-ceiling alcove in traditional Japanese rooms, used to display seasonal art and flowers
torii —The pi-shaped gates at Shinto shrines
tatami —The woven straw mats that cover the floors in traditional Japanese houses
uguisu —Japanese nightingale, a bird known for its elaborate song
yen —Japanese unit of money. Roughly: 1 yen = 1 cent (USD)
zazen —Meditation practice of Soto (Zen) Buddhists
HONORIFICS USED WITH NAMES:
-san —Added to someone’s name like Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss.
-chan —Added to the name of a childhood friend or a young woman (instead of -san), to show a close relationship.
-kun —Added to the name of a young man or young professional colleague (instead of -san), to show a close relationship.
-rōshi —Added to the name of an abbot at a monastery
-bosan —Added to the name of a Buddhist priest, equivalent to Reverend
o- —Added in front of someone’s title to show respect (for example, o-bosan)
DOES YOUR BOOK GROUP READ LITERARY FICTION, HISTORICAL FICTION OR MYSTERIES?
Choose The Last Tea Bowl Thief for your next get-together!
DISCUSSION STARTERS
Do you believe in luck?
“Good luck” and “bad luck” are often used to describe situations or events that we’re powerless to control, and the characters in The Last Tea Bowl Thief are typically Japanese in their respect for (and fear of) what fate dishes out.
• Think of a point in your own life that changed your entire future. Did good or bad luck play a part? Where would you be now if things had been different?
• Can you think of ways the characters in The Last Tea Bowl Thief tried to influence their luck? Do you think we can influence luck? What are some things you do to get more good luck/avoid bad luck?
• Look up today’s date on a Japanese lucky day calendar website (seiyaku.com is a good one). What kind of day was today? Did today’s forecast accurately predict what kind of day you had?
Is stealing ever right?
There are three generations of thieves in this story. If we give each of them the benefit of the doubt and believe they acted from the best of intentions, one steals to save a thing of beauty from destruction, one steals to survive, and one steals to right an old wrong and advance scholarship.
• Were Saburo, Chiyo, and Robin right or wrong to steal the tea bowl?
• What could they have done instead? Could they still have achieved their goals? How might their lives have been different?
More food for thought & discussion starters are at lastteabowlthief.com
Make your book group memorable with The Last Tea Bowl Thief ‘extras
• Narrated video slideshow of the real Japanese places and scenes in The Last Tea Bowl Thief
• Original cocktail/mocktail recipes inspired by The Last Tea Bowl Thief
• Easy homemade tea ceremony sweets recipe
• How to make real tea ceremony tea (matcha) and where to buy it
For all these goodies, and more, visit The Last Tea Bowl Thief website: lastteabowlthief.com
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