Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms by John Dudley Ball

Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms Reviews

• 
  Pat Cummings

  "Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms" can be read with enjoyment on several levels, as a romance, as a cultural odyssey, or even as a clever presentation of mid-20th-century industrial practices in Japan. It succeeds on all those levels, but my favorite theme is the growth of the American protagonist Richard Seaton.
  
  The gentle love story between an American engineer encountering a timeless beauty (the geisha whose working name is the title of the book) provides an artful camouflage for the way Seaton falls in love with Japan and its timeless culture. He arrives in Japan with a preconceived notion of a feudal, even primitive, Japan which seems to be garnered from the way his task was presented to him by his employers Stateside. The contrast between American and Nipponese engineering philosophies is an even greater surprise to Seaton than his first encounter with a public bath.
  
  But even more striking to me is the way that Richard, in learning to value the people he has come to Japan to work with, begins to accord his own abilities a greater value. I wish this novel was available for the Kindle, because it deserves a much wider audience than it has achieved in the bound, condensed or paperback volumes.
• 
  Janet Worthington

  Just delightful! Funny and sweet, it's a love story set in Japan in the early 1960s, with well-drawn, nuanced characters.
• 
  Chrisl

  Way back when, I read most of Ball's books. This is one I'd start with if able to reread. No copies of any Ball in regional library. (Multiple libraries with copies of DVD 'In the Heat of the Night')
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ba...
  ***
  Here's one of those Kirkus reviews I like to scan in consideration of a possible re-read.
  
  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
  "A goodish distance from the author's In the Heat of the Night, this simple-minded entertainment concerning the Japanese idyll of a gangly Mr. Deeds in the author's land of the rising gorge. Seems that Richard Emmett Seaton is sent by his employer, the industrial firm of Mercer and Doyle, to push through an advantageous deal with a supplier, Matsumoto and Company. Arriving in Japan, Seaton is all eager business until his virgin eyes are set alight by Miss Thousand Spring Blossoms, or Masayo, a geisha. Seaton runs up quite a geisha bill until he finally realizes that Masayo's attentions are metered. Tangle upon tangle as Seaton is courted by others, straightens out Mercer-Matsumoto affairs. Finally, in love with Japan, transferring his professional devotion to Matsumoto & Co., Seaton degeishas Masayo who consents to become his wife. Many ho-ho's as American-Japanese not understand languages; many nice men and ladies; Japanese baths (tee-hee); amiable stereotyper not miss a tlick. Fuji fudge."
  ***
  And a different review - from Kobo.com
  
  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/miss...
  Synopsis
  
  "She Broke an Ancient Tradition by Falling in Love
  
  Kanno Masayo, Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms, is the loveliest and most glamorous geisha in all of Japan. Dick Seaton is a shy, handsome American whose business takes him to Japan to close a very big deal. In violation of a timeless taboo, Dick and Kanno spend slow, tantalizing days falling in love.
  
  Then Dick discovers that Kanno’s love was paid for by his businessmen hosts. Sensing his rage and hurt, Kanno flees in confusion. And, too late, Dick realizes the truth—that she really loved him.
  
  Now, a stranger in a strange, exotic land, he must find her—and seduce her back into his life.
  
  Love her for a night… and you will remember her for a lifetime.
  
  Praise for Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms"
• 
  Karin

  So let's see here. An ignorant western guy who is completely naive and inexperienced with women moves to Asia for work. He falls for the first pretty face he sees, but is then easily distracted by several other girls who happen along and are nice to him. He goes from professing his undying love and affection for one girl to proposing marriage to another. No one is really honest with anyone else, whether it's just the ignorance at play or deliberate manipulation. There is absolutely no depth to any of the relationships; just stunted emotions and difficulties communicating.
  Oh, and apparently all women can be bought in some way. Right. I can't imagine why I didn't like this one...
• 
  Karen GoatKeeper

  World War II is over. Japan is beginning to industrialize. Their factories can create intricate pieces sought by U.S. industries as they dip their toes into becoming global.
  Richard Seaton's company needs a precision part. They decide to send an engineer over with the blueprints to oversee production of a prototype. Seaton is sent to Japan, a place he knows nothing about - not the language nor the customs.
  Matsumoto Company can make the part. They greet and entertain Richard Seaton as they would any business executive. They barely speak English and no little to nothing about U.S. customs.
  Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms is Tokyo's reigning geisha. She is young, very beautiful and trained to be charming. She is expensive.
  Richard Seaton, the too tall, gawky, awkward American, ignored by women, falls deeply in love with a geisha who is never supposed to marry.
  The book is filled with the sights and sounds of Japan on the cusp between the old and the new. It deals with the clash of two cultures from both points of view: the Japanese and the American, without holding either up to be best, only different. It touches on racial issues.
  This book is easy to read. It flows filled with descriptions, yet never bogs down. It's story is memorable, timeless and poignant.
• 
  Mardi D

  I read this book more than 20 years ago and enjoyed it so much that I decided to keep the book and read it again "sometime". It was stuck in a box during a move and was in limbo until I recently rediscovered its hiding place and finally got to read it again. It had been so long that I remembered very little of the story. I found it to be utterly charming. I enjoyed every moment of my time spent with the various characters and did a 3 hour read in the wee hours of the morning to finish it as did not want to put it aside. I also enjoyed reading about some of the Japanese culture and customs of the time period. As successful as this author was with his better known books, I would have loved to have read more like this one. I see that it is available in various digital formats so it is available for those interested in trying it. If you like a clean simple romance this one might be for you.
• 
  Ginny Thurston

  This is a very sweet and beautifully-written book by the same author who wrote In the Heat of the Night. This book is very different. It was published in 1964, so it is very dated to that time ... both for America and Japan. It is basically a love story, but it is very educational about the differences between American and Japanese culture during this time. Fifty-six years later, these cultures have greatly changed,but the differences in culture are still important to understand. I love how the author shows full respect for both cultures and how the characters respect the fact that they are different, but both valuable. We need more of this today!
  
• 
  Sue

  Years ago, a friend suggested this book. I’ve read it every few years. John Ball takes you to Japan. His description is so artistic, I felt I was there with Dick Seaton. The love story is brilliant. But it is so layered with descriptive characters, I felt they were friends. And hoped all the best for them. Had forgotten how captivating this book is. One night, I read until 3:00 in the morning. My friend was able to find a copy at a book sale, so I now have this in my own library. 😊
• 
  Joanne

  Written in 1968, this is a bit old-fashioned in style, but tells the story of an American businessman who travels to conduct business with a Japanese company as it is noted that "the Japanese are actually rather good with electronics" (yes, that's a clue that it's dated!). He falls in love with a geisha and has other experiences in this new culture that expand his horizons, leading to a happy ending.
• 
  Teresa K

  Amusing book, I love the insight into the Japanese culture, with a happy ending of course. Just what I needed.
• 
  Amy

  I liked the book, but not the ending. This is a story about an American engineer from Boston who travels to Japan to meet with a supplier and his encounters with Japanese customs, traditions and women. I would recommend it - especially to my Japan-living friends.
• 
  Mylen Anceno

  This book was actually good. I didn't expect that from a 1960's author. It showed me a glimpse of the whole Geisha business in Japan and about international love as well :)
• 
  Winter Sophia Rose

  A Beautiful, Memorable Love Story!
• 
  Nani Sela

  love it!!!!