Tenkara Smart brings feudal Japan to life in this tale of honor, battle, and love with His Name is Junsaku. Junsaku Aoyama is working towards becoming the greatest samurai to serve the shogunate. This is all derailed when he meets a Lithuanian woman who steps off a Dutch trading vessel. Smart masterfully brings together so many great elements all under one roof from political intrigue, historical fiction, action packed battles, and a heartfelt love story! I loved the characters and the deep struggle Junsaku was put through, but I also especially loved how Smart really brought feudal Japan to life making the setting feel lived in and accurate. I have a degree in history and studied this particular era, so I was quite impressed with the level of research Smart must have done to accurately portray the shogunate and life at the time (my hat’s off to Smart here!). If you love samurai culture, history, battles, or love stories with a splash of supernatural sprinkled in, definitely grab your katana and come slash through His Name is Junsaku!
