[ MAUKA MAKAI ]
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Takashi Matsuoka's novel "Cloud of Sparrows" was rejected several times before becoming the prize of a bidding war.
An honorable success Inspired by stories told to him as a child of his ancestors in Japan, Takashi Matsuoka transports readers into a majestic realm of samurai and geisha, ninjas and Zen masters in his debut novel, 'Cloud of Sparrows.'"
Takashi Matsuoka’s debut novel
is already spawning a film,
audio books and a sequelGary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comYou have to love this kind of breathless introduction from publishers. In Matsuoka's case, those inspirational stories, instead of coming from some wise and wizened relative, probably came from his regular visits to the Kokusai and Nippon Gekijo theaters near Aala Park, where Matsuoka's father would take the impressionable Takashi to see the latest samurai movie, and his imagination was stimulated by archetypes of gruff samurai and refined geisha.
Who knows, in several years' time, "Tash" will attend a swanky Hollywood red-carpet premiere of the movie adaptation of his first published novel. In this world of snapping up "intellectual properties" as quickly as one can, the film rights to "Cloud of Sparrows" were purchased by Universal - specifically by the prestigious production team of Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, whose work has been most associated with some director named Steven Spielberg - a month after Random House bought the book.
Matsuoka's work hit bookshelves Oct. 1 under the Bantam Dell Publishing Group's Delacorte Press imprimatur, and numerous overseas editions will be published in Europe and Japan.
According to a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, "the mass-marketable samurai (is) reveling in his moment," with Tom Cruise and Quentin Tarantino planning films with similar themes. In its brief review of the book, EW calls Matsuoka's novel "a likably straight-up samurai epic." That description is OK with the author.
"The book's strongest point is that it's very entertaining," he said. "I favor transparency in writing and don't like to preach or posture. I let the story carry it forward."
IT'S NO surprise that "Cloud of Sparrows" is really not Matsuoka's first novel. Not counting the occasional yet-unmade screenplay, the novel is actually his fifth or sixth. By his admission, the others weren't good enough to see the light of day. But he says he's seen improvement in his storytelling with each successive book, and "Cloud of Sparrows" was good enough for him to push out into the world.
"The context of the novel is the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate, the final years of the samurai era," he said. "A fictional warlord is reputed to have prophetic visions in the family and becomes the enmity of the shogun, who enlists his secret police to both kill him and destroy his entire clan.
"It's all about the warlord's attempt to survive, along with his relationships with a celebrated geisha and Christian missionaries, both of whom are not who they seem to be. It's a clash of Japanese and Western values, filled with plots and counterplots.
"I admit it's hard to write a samurai novel without ignoring other influential books that came before, like James Clavell's 'Shogun' and Eiji Yoshikawa's 'Musashi.'" he said. "But I wanted to have published a presentation that was accurate to the history of the samurai saga. This is a different shogunate because it shows both sides and the collapse of the culture."
Despite the bloodshed and horror seen as the novel reaches its climax, Matsuoka says there is a definite emphasis on morality and ethics. "The spiritual values are positive - it's love over hatred and compassion over revenge."
The book was, first of all, a finished manuscript, ready to be shopped around. He found a champion for his novel in Random House's William Massey, an Englishman who had just joined the publishing corporate giant three months earlier. "His reaction was enthusiastic and highly favorable from the start," Matsuoka said. "In fact, he was instrumental in Random House finally purchasing it. The manuscript had been sent to various agents, and the response was usually not positive. When one finally got back to me, it was too late - 14 publishers were already vying for it.
"Richard was great as my editor, as well. He was extremely perceptive and sensitive and understood the novel as well as I did."
WHEN IT COMES to Matsuoka's relationship with his father, it's true that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. He got his love and discipline for writing from his California-born dad, a former Associated Press reporter. His father also worked for the Hilo Tribune-Herald, on the Big Island where his wife grew up.
"I remember, as early as 2 years of age, of growing up, watching him type," Matsuoka said. "By the age of 12, I knew I wanted to be a writer, a novelist. My dad also gave me books to read and learn from. I remember the first ones being Ernest Hemingway's 'The Sun Also Rises' and Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road' - that was one book that I thought, 'Neat! When you become a writer, you get to drive fast cars and meet flashy women!'
"I also began writing one-act plays in the seventh grade, which made me popular with the other students because it got all of us out of assignments while we worked on and acted out my plays."
It was Matsuoka's first taste of near fame. While his stage has broadened immensely, like most local-born men of Japanese ancestry, he's not going the tantaran route.
"I like being known without being known," he said. "But I admit I was getting freaked out with the business end of book publishing; it was spooking me. It felt like every time I took a breath or checked my answering machine, something was happening."
"A LOT was also happening to me in my personal life," he said. "I got custody of my now 15-year-old daughter, and my 81-year-old mother has been ill the past three years with cancer. The disease is slowly taking its toll on her, but all the news surrounding my book was therapeutic for her."
Like son to father, it seems the lineage will continue with Matsuoka's daughter Weixin (Mandarin for "compassionate heart"). "When she was 13, my daughter was my first reader. She's honest in her response, very enthusiastic and doesn't (lie to) you. ... She gave me useful editorial comments.
"Sometimes I read her stuff and wonder, 'Hmmm, is she better than me when I was her age?'"
ONE MARK of modern success is scoring an "audio book" version of your work, and Matsuoka can boast that "Cloud of Sparrows" has two audio versions. One is an abridged CD from Random House, and the other is an unabridged set of CDs. He's heard reader Ron Rifkin's abridged version and says it struck him "weird, because his way of reading isn't how I envisioned it."
"I think the novel form has an advantage over audio and movie because readers bring 50 percent to the experience by bringing their own perceptions," he said.
But Matsuoka is also sensitive to those who are disturbed by the novel's violent passages.
"Some friends who have already read the book are appalled by some things, but I give them honest feedback and try to explain what I wanted to accomplish."
While he doesn't know what his publisher expects from him in the marketing of the book, a national tour would just be another round of traveling that has long been a part of his writing career.
"After graduating from UH and before going to law school in New York, I lived with my first ex-wife in Japan when I was in my mid-20s. There, I wrote English articles for Japan Automotive News. When I came back to the U.S., I also did freelance articles for motorcycle magazines and did a stint as an editor with Rider magazine, which is all about motorcycle travel."
Matsuoka realized his own version of "On the Road" as he traveled through the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, writing about his experiences.
His two ex-wives remain friends with him and assisted in his writing career. "In fact, the photo of me on the book's jacket was taken by my first ex, and the second publicity shot, taken here in Honolulu, was taken by my second!"
Matsuoka took a few months' breather after the "Cloud of Sparrows" manuscript was sold, but has started working on a sequel, one he's contracted to do with the help of his editor William Massey.
It's safe to say he won't have problems selling his next novel.
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