{"product_id":"little-bird-the-tiger-9798387466632","title":"Little Bird \u0026 The Tiger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWRITER'S DIGEST, 31st Annual Self-Published Book First Place Award in Mainstream\/Literary Fiction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLittle Bird and the Tiger\u003c\/b\u003e is embedded within Japan's transition to modernity, its outburst into Asia, much like America's contemporaneous 'manifest destiny.' The story shifts between two perspectives, those of Tachibana Hideo and Umezawa Tozaburo. Tachibana, an orphaned young woman who discovers martial arts as a child, wandering from dojo to dojo, both to perfect her art and to secure some food and shelter for the night. Becoming a consummate warrior in a society that denies women an independent life, she is nicknamed \"Little Bird.\" Under their breath, however, men refer to her as a 'Shrike, ' a ferocious carnivorous bird.\u003cbr\u003eUmezawa is one of those tragic young men who march off to serve a cause they do not understand at the behest of men who use that bravery to their own ends. He becomes one of the many Japanese adventurers, known as \u003ci\u003etairiku ronin\u003c\/i\u003e, who wandered Northeast Asia, joining local bandit gangs, involving themselves in revolutionary organizations, and most importantly, serving as spies to gather information on the countries that Japan intended to eventually conquer. His wanderings take him into the Primoye, the Maritime Provinces of Russia, joining the \u003ci\u003eNani\u003c\/i\u003e (tribal people), then \u003ci\u003eKhunkuz\u003c\/i\u003e (Chinese bandits), then political terrorists in Korea and finally a return to Japan, careening from one locale to another like a wounded tiger, a path of violence and heartbreak.\u003cbr\u003eThe only way Tachibana can maintain her integrity is to be inviolate, a woman alone. Umezawa becomes an extravagant man, who rationalizes everything he does with the warrior creed that honor is in service, in his case, to the will of the Emperor. For these people (and many others in the book), violence is a language, a \"physical dialogue,\" with devastating consequences, win or lose. Within all these themes is interwoven that of love, both redemptive and tragic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eSet during a time of sweeping cultural change, where Japan moved with lighting speed from an isolated land of feudal lords and samurai to a mechanized, world-power, we are given a window into both the world of Japanese martial arts, and the often-misunderstood role of women in both that world and Japanese society at large, all Both a master-teacher of the very tradition he records and drawing from the real-life experiences of the women who preserved that lineage, Amdur brings a degree of authenticity to these powerful women, and the changing face of martial arts in their world that is only surpassed by his psychological insights into the drives, passions and disappointments that shape our souls. \u003c\/i\u003e -Gregory Mele, author of \u003cb\u003eFlowers of Battle - The Complete Martial Works of Fiore dei Liberi\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eInspired by historical characters, Ellis Amdur creates a world as brutal and complex as Meiji Japan actually was. Little Bird \u0026amp; Tiger's two unforgettable protagonists fight their way through the era's traumas and turbulence with weapons, will, and hard-won wisdom. In passages as raging and beautiful as a caged tiger, Amdur plots their journeys toward the most unexpected and tender battle of all. \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCynthia Gralla, author of \u003cb\u003eThe Floating World and The Demimonde in Japanese Literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-4133372\"\u003eEllis Amdur\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/27\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 390\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.99lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798387466632\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 8387466638\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC019000\"\u003eLiterary\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44690543673581,"sku":"9798387466632","price":21.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_165bff18-dc8f-441b-9e56-0ce52ce2e2f4.jpg?v=1703708973","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/little-bird-the-tiger-9798387466632","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}