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2nd out of 15 books
—
6 voters
The Master Puppeteer
Who is the man called Saburo, the mysterious bandit who robs the rich and helps the poor? And what is his connection with Yoshida, the harsh and ill-tempered master of feudal Japan's most famous puppet theater? Young Jiro, and apprentice to Yoshida, is determined to find out, even at risk to his own life.
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
March 24th 1989
by HarperTeen
(first published January 1st 1975)
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This novel is a fictions mystery about a puppeteer apprentice named Jiro who tries to discover the secret of a master thief named Saburo. Jiro lives during a time of great famine, set in Osaka, Japan in the 1700's. There are many people who are struggling to survive. Jiro takes up a puppeteering apprentice with a strict and evil man named Yoshida, and discovers that there is a connection between Saburo, the thief, and Yoshida, his evil master. Saburo is a Robin Hood like figure who has been stea...more
Novel yang berkisah tentang seorang bocah di Osaka di sekitar tahun 1700-an, saat masyarakat Jepang umumnya kekurangan pangan sementara para pedagang, samurai, dan Daimyo menyibukkan diri dengan perang yang berkelanjutan.
Si Bocah, Jiro, meninggalkan rumah orang tuanya dan memilih untuk mengabdi pada sebuah teater boneka yang dipimpin oleh Yoshida. Di tempat itu ia berteman baik dengan Yoshida Kinshi, putra si ketua, yang tidak terlalu berbakat untuk menjadi dalang boneka. Di saat yang sama, seor...more
Si Bocah, Jiro, meninggalkan rumah orang tuanya dan memilih untuk mengabdi pada sebuah teater boneka yang dipimpin oleh Yoshida. Di tempat itu ia berteman baik dengan Yoshida Kinshi, putra si ketua, yang tidak terlalu berbakat untuk menjadi dalang boneka. Di saat yang sama, seor...more
I have no idea how accurate this account of the life of a young apprentice in a Bunraku puppet theater may be, but it certainly seems well researched and well written. Also, some of the character interactions seemed sort of odd to me, but odd in a way similar to situations I've encountered in Japanese literature and film before, so without any cultural expertise myself I'll go out on limb to say that Ms. Paterson has done a pretty good job introducing the younger reader to the world of Feudal Ja...more
Hm, this read was very strange. I loved it till the but I didn't understand some things.
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Jan 21, 2009
Dominic
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Young Readers
Recommended to Dominic by:
Mrs.Walters
This a wonderful junior high-school level novel that serves as a perfect introduction to Japanese culture for children. It is also a great segway into more difficult Japanese ceremony novels such as "The Great Teahouse Fire," and "Memoirs of a Geisha." Overall, A-.
This book is not exactly the type of book i would choose to read but I ended up loving it anyways. This book as friendship, betrayal, hardships, sacrifice, and victory. The Master Puppeteer is a very inspiring book. Its about a young boy living in Japan during a time of famine and poverty. His family had little to no money or food and he has to choose whether or not to stay home or to go off to the theater and work to possibly support his family. He ends up taking the job offer. Even while he ha...more
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The Master Puppeteer is of course another favorite. It is the story of Sabura, a Japanese Robin Hood who steals from the rich to help the very poor in the Japanese feudal system. Jiro,an apprentice, learn’s from the puppet master’s son (Kinshi) the trade of both making and using beautiful puppets for entertainment. As the hungry crowd mobs and the authorities furiously search for the true identity of Sabura, Jiro is caught in the middle between Yoshida his master and his family. Fantastic suspen...more
I really like this book becuase this book teaches aobut honor, courage, and trust. It teaches about honor in the way of being humble, and trying to be modest in what you do. It teaches about courage, becuase it takes a lot to ask a teacher to take you in as an apprentice, especially when the teacher expects the parent, not the child. It teaches about thrust, becuase trust is what this whole story holds up on. Otherwise, well, trust will be gone. With no trust, nothing will be done. So, read and...more
AR: 5.4
Grades: 5-8
This is Susan's Review:
Despised by his mother, and he thinks, a burden to his puppet-maker father, young Jiro becomes an apprentice at the Hanaza puppet theater. The master puppeteer, Yoshida, is cruel to his son, Kinshi, but everyone else he treats fairly, if strictly. Most important, there is always enough food at Hanaza, though many others are starving in Osaka. Kinshi and the blind old chanter, Okada, are kind to Jiro, but the boy worries about his ill father and his hungry...more
Grades: 5-8
This is Susan's Review:
Despised by his mother, and he thinks, a burden to his puppet-maker father, young Jiro becomes an apprentice at the Hanaza puppet theater. The master puppeteer, Yoshida, is cruel to his son, Kinshi, but everyone else he treats fairly, if strictly. Most important, there is always enough food at Hanaza, though many others are starving in Osaka. Kinshi and the blind old chanter, Okada, are kind to Jiro, but the boy worries about his ill father and his hungry...more
Master puppeteer by Katherine Paterson is an okay book to read. I didn't like the book and I thought this book was boring in my opinion because it is slow paced and doesn't have any actions. Throughout the book, there are almost no actions at all until the end. I generally like fantasy books that are full of action, so this book wasn't fit for me. However this book does teach the reader a lot about Japanese culture and their traditions. Eventhough I and some other people in my group didn't like...more
Oct 24, 2009
Joshua Serrano Serrano
added it
This is a book that I enjoyed. Throught the entire book, the main issue was the main character trying to make a better life for himself without turning his back on his family. His mom was a bitter, sickly woman and his dad had a hard time making a living for them. When the opportunity came up for him to live a better life he has to take it. This book had lots of big conflicts that he has to choose himself or others. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read.
I had to read this book for school. I wasn't expecting much since most of the novels you read in school are really lame but this one suprised me. The book jumps right into the conflict right away which is always nice as to books who take 200 pages to get really into it. The characters created are very real and there is a lot of background information about medeaval Japan. The conflict is very interesting and the book is a nice quick read. My only complaint is the ending. After reading so much it...more
I would recommend this book to any person interested in the genre of historical fiction. "The Master Puppeteer" by Katherine Paterson truly is a great historical fiction story that is set in Japan a few centuries ago, during the age of samurais and warlords. Japan at this time is going through harder times as famine grows in the poor and the powerful feast on food and riches. We see this harsh setting through the eyes of a small Japanese boy living in a theater. While he is here he finds out mys...more
this is another of the very interesting genre - young adult mystery books of the samurai period in Japan. I rediscovered it when I bought a used copy, started to read it, and realized I already had. :-) It is a fascinating story taking place in a time of depression and famine in Japan and our young hero learns about the world of Japanese puppets when he goes to live in the master's household.
I am having to read this book for school because it "goes along with our studies of Medieval Japan"... It is actually a good book, better than the ones I have had to read in the past. However, I think I might enjoy it more if I was reading it on my own. Idk, I probably would not have chosen to read it because I am not a history person... but good book with good plot. If you like historical fiction it is a good book. I would recommend it for you.
An excellent mix of comedy, history, reality, mystery, and intrigue. Quite culturally accurate, too. After reading this, my ten-year-old wanted to take the first plane to Osaka to watch bunraku for himself. That's how effective Katherine Paterson's description of this Japanese art was.
It was wonderful to read and learn about the Japanese puppet theater with my boys, which we knew nothing about previously, especially as we were reading Pinocchio at the same time - we became immersed in our spontaneous "unit" on puppets! We found some short videos on youtube that showed clips of Bunraku (Japanese puppet theater), which is both beautiful and fascinating. We found ourselves engrossed in the story of this book as well, which is of a boy who grows up and learns about responsibility...more
I re-read this book to help my daughter keep track of all the Japanese names/references when she read it for school. It's a great book with a page-turning mystery, but even for me it slows down due to my unfamiliarity with Japanese words.
It was like an Oriental Robin hood, the part about the robber.
And the ;insights into Oriental culture was interesting. The kids and I liked it a lot, but we're inclined to like anything from the far East.
And the ;insights into Oriental culture was interesting. The kids and I liked it a lot, but we're inclined to like anything from the far East.
This is an excellent book. The main character is very relatable and the reader is introduced to Japanese culture in a magnificent way that is not hard to comprehend. Japanese tradition is such an integral part of Japanese culture and the author does a great job of showing this fact throughout the fast paced adventure story.
This book is really interesting. It shows how a family struggles through the proverty and power. This relates to Robin Hood-like outlaw called Saburo who developed ingenious methods of stealing from the rich and eluding and embarrassing the authorities. The suspense builds around the the town ang people are wondering who is Saburo.
I didnt like this story all this much because I didnt see the story line. The book made me open to the idea of poverty that even your own family members would turn against you to survive.
i really liked this book! my mom read it to my family for history. i really got in to the story. it was definitly my favorite book that we have read in history so far!
Lo leí como "El maestro de las marionetas". Entretenido. En medio de una época de hambre, un chico de 13 años entra al mundo de las marionetas de oriente.
Many. People. Have. Helped. With. Thish. Book. I. Cannot Name. Them All. But. I. Would. Like. To. Say a. Special. Thanks. To. The. Following
Excelente, cultural. Emotivo. Un niño que nos enseña el arte de sobrellevar las dificultades de la vida. Lo recomiento
I didn't like this book. Way to many characters so it was hard to know what was going on and who was involved.
I read this book 6 years ago in 5th grade! I loved all the books my teacher read to us and I hope to reread them.
I read this with my son when he was in Jr. High and was fascinated by the Japanese culture. Lots of intrigue.
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From author's website:
People are always asking me questions I don't have answers for. One is, "When did you first know that you wanted to become a writer?" The fact is that I never wanted to be a writer, at least not when I was a child, or even a young woman. Today I want very much to be a writer. But when I was ten, I wanted to be either a movie star or a missionary. When I was twenty, I wanted t...more
More about Katherine Paterson...
People are always asking me questions I don't have answers for. One is, "When did you first know that you wanted to become a writer?" The fact is that I never wanted to be a writer, at least not when I was a child, or even a young woman. Today I want very much to be a writer. But when I was ten, I wanted to be either a movie star or a missionary. When I was twenty, I wanted t...more
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“We all learn here by the honorable path of horrible mistakes.”
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