His Hopi princess bride has left him for the head of the philosophy department and his PhD thesis is stalled; what is left for an Iowa farmboy to do but to board a slow boat to Yokohama? John Fox leaves the academic desert of New Mexico for Japan, in search of fame and inspiration among the Ainu, the white aborigines of Hokkaido. While his adventures as an American innocent abroad take many a romantic and political turn, John discovers, as the Ainu believe, that everything is God ... and bears.
The Kawai Scrolls
is the picturesque tale of a young American anthropologist studying the Ainu people in Japan. By turns lighthearted and profound, the novel explores the complexities of modern—day indigenous culture from a fresh perspective.