Kansuke Naka¡¯s childhood memoir, ¡°The Silver Spoon: Memoir of a Boyhood in Japan,¡± is a charming depiction of life in Meiji Era (1868-1912) Japan.

Its enduring status as one of Japan¡¯s most-loved accounts of life in Tokyo at the beginning of the 20th century is due not only to Naka¡¯s historical details, but also because it is a parable for our contemporary sense of isolation.