Book set in Tokyo – The Bells of Old Tokyo by Anna Sherman
Meditations on Time and a City. The Bells of Old Tokyo
Book set in Tokyo – The Bells of Old Tokyo by Anna Sherman – Not a novel but a book which explores in depth, the colourful history, culture, people and language of Tokyo. It’s a very beautiful and thought-provoking exploration of the history and culture of this bustling city and its residents that is a mix of memoir, cultural history, and more.
“The book is structured around Anna’s search for the eight lost bells that once surrounded the city. These bells marked the city’s neighborhoods and kept time for its inhabitants before the introduction of Western-style clocks. The bells are tangible vestiges of a much older Japan—one that believed in time as represented by animals and the zodiac, rather than minutes and hours, a circle rather than a forward line.”
BookTrail Travel to the locations in The Bells of Old Tokyo
BookTrail Travel to the locations in The Bells of Old Tokyo
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Susan @thebooktrailer
A very interesting concept for a book and a guide book to Tokyo. It’s not a novel , guide book or any one of these things, but a mix of many and that’s what so appealing. We travel and discover the land and its people with Anna, who as an outsider, has an interesting view of this fascinating country and city.
I loved the idea of the bells and the concept of time. Something we take for granted now, but which started off very differently in other countries is something which always fascinates me. Time seems so set now, but it’s actually one of the most changeable and fleeting concepts. I am still amazed when they change the clocks for daylight saving time and the idea of time zones, but that’s another story.
BookTrail Travel to the locations in The Bells of Old Tokyo
The language is lyrical and fascinating. The author manages to blend the ideas she has and places she comes across in the most lyrical of ways:
“I would take not the elevated expressway routes, or the Yamanote Line railway that rings the heart of Tokyo, but trace areas in which the bells could be heard, the pattern that on a map looked like raindrops striking water. Winds could carry the ringing notes far out into Tokyo Bay; or the rain silence them as if they had never existed.
A circle has an infinite number of beginnings. The direction I walked would change, just as the circles on the map could change.
There were boundaries, but they were not fixed.”
Sherman’s Tokyo is a compelling one at that. If I could afford to, I would fly there right now, this book in hand, and use it as the most unique guides and insights I could ever hope to find. It’s essentially a travelogue mapped out by the city’s bells through time. If this book were a clock, the hour hand would be the one showcasing the main ideas and areas of the city, with the second hand whirling around with interesting facts. Anna takes us with us on the journey and we visit the bells that still exist. I found this to be a very enticing way of introducing someone to a city or even guiding them around one you might know. It’s an extremely clever way of travelling around a city and getting to know it in so many interesting ways.
BookTrail Travel to the locations in The Bells of Old Tokyo
Postcard details: Access The BookTrail’s Map of Locations and travel guide here
More books set in Tokyo here
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Web: /annasherman.co.uk/
