Dr. C.A. Parker
Washington, DC
Practitioner of shakuhachi and Aikido for over 25 years, bridging spirituality and social justice, now delving into Christian-Buddhist contemplative traditions
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 7, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Running Wild Press
Page Count: 402
Format, ISBN, Price: Paperback, 978-1960018007, $19.99
ABOUT THE BOOK
Japan 1745 is a land under the iron grip of the Tokugawa shoguns. Roads are monitored, dissent stifled, and order maintained through blackmail and an extensive network of informers. Amid rumors of rebellion, Kurosawa Kinko–samurai and monk–is expelled in disgrace as the head music instructor of his Zen temple in Nagasaki. He begins an odyssey across Japan, dogged by agents and assassins from an unknown foe. Along his journey, Kinko encounters a compelling cast of merchants, ronin, courtesans, spies, warriors, hermits, and spirits, on a quest to redeem his honor. Inspired by the life of the historical Kurosawa Kinko (1710-1771), master of the shakuhachi flute and founder of the Kinko-ryu school, Song of the Samurai takes the reader on a richly-textured exploration of feudal Japan and the complexities of the human spirit.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. C.A. Parker has spent a lifetime working at the intersection of spirituality and social justice, both as the Executive Director of several non-profit organizations and as a pastor. His doctoral work is in early Anglican spirituality, and he has spent many years exploring the commonalities between Christian and Buddhist contemplative traditions.
Dr. Parker has studied the Japanese flute — the shakuhachi — and the Japanese martial art of Aikido for over 25 years (in which he holds a second-degree black belt) and has spent time in Japan studying both disciplines, which he has also taught and are part of his own spiritual practice. He lives in Washington, DC, with his two creative children, and two rescued pets (a grumpy old dog named Chewbacca and a neurotic cat named Luna).
PRAISE
“The author’s quiet prose artfully evokes Kurosawa’s world, in which every space and person has a spiritual dimension… The novel succeeds in re-creating a time and, perhaps more importantly, a worldview that many readers will enjoy getting lost in.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“C.A. Parker is either a thoroughly accomplished novelist or an out-and-out time traveler, for he has given us the kind of window into 18th Century Japan that suggests he lived and walked there. With this engrossing debut, Parker proves himself a master at reanimating lost worlds.”
—Louis Bayard, author of Pale Blue Eye and Jackie & Me
“Samurai are everywhere these days with news that Disney+ has committed to two more seasons of hit series Shōgun, so it’s the perfect moment for Running Wild Press to publish Song of the Samurai by C.A. Parker….Parker’s prose is light and flowing, making for an easy, pleasurable read, while the humor and drama are balanced with spiritual contemplation and depictions of the practice of religion in pre-modern Japan.”
–Iain Maloney, Metropolis Japan
“Song of the Samurai delivers a richly detailed story of a Japanese monk who embarks on a personal quest for enlightenment.”
—Novels Alive
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- What inspired you to write Song of the Samurai?
- Can you speak about the women characters in the novel, and their place in society in mid-18th century Japan?
- One of the central characters in this novel is not a person but an instrument. What can you tell us about the shakuhachi?
- What makes this story relevant today?
- The F/X remake of Shogun has been receiving a great deal of positive press. Where does Song of the Samurai connect with the narrative of Shogun? What are some of the differences in the stories?
- Your protagonist, Kurosawa Kinko, was a historical figure. How much of your story reflects the life of the actual Kinko?
- Kinko’s spiritual practice as a Zen monk incorporates the disciplines of music and martial arts. How are these apparently disparate disciplines related?
- Kinko spends an extended section of this novel on the sacred mountain of Koya-san with an eccentric hermit. Why was that sojourn important to the story?
- You are by training an ordained Christian clergy person. Where does your interest in Zen Buddhism come from?
- You also practice martial arts and play the shakuhachi. How did you begin that and how did it impact the novel?
- Song of the Samurai tells a self-contained story. Are there more chapters in Kinko’s life that you hope to write?
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99