91福利社

When her mother dies, Rimi Tanaka regrets that she never truly got to know her. And so when her mother鈥檚 literary agent calls Rimi out of the blue, and asks her if she wants to write the book Akemi was writing when she died, Rimi seizes the opportunity. Akemi was researching her samurai ancestry, learning more about their philosophical code, and how it can teach us to live a fuller life today. Can completing her mother鈥檚 spiritual quest help Rimi finally come closer to someone she felt she never fully knew?

As a young mother, Akemi fled difficult circumstances in Japan to make a new life for herself and her daughter in the UK. But as a child, Rimi felt that her mother was always working. John Maki Evans, martial art sensei and friend of Akemi鈥檚, guides Rimi into the world of samurai swordsmanship, and helps her to understand the samurai beliefs that may have taken Akemi away from her. The cornerstone is training both body and mind in the study of martial arts, calligraphy and tea ceremony. Rimi remembers her mother hosting tea ceremonies for her, and visits tea sensei Rei Seto-Okerblom to try and gain a deeper insight into these precious but highly formalised moments together.

As Rimi pays her respects to her mother鈥檚 memorial cherry blossom in Kew Gardens, she reflects on what writing this book has taught her, both about herself and her mother. Does she forgive Akemi? How does she understand her now?

Producer/Presenter: Eloise Stevens
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Chloe Walker
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno