The Lost Mother

About the Book

The Lost Mother is the memoir of Iltang, an acclaimed Korean/Japan painter whowas born in 1922. His Korean mother, Ilyeopwas a well-known feminist poetwho, after his birth, renounced the worldto enter into Buddhist monastic life. Iltang's father was the scion of an aristocratic Japanese family. Their relationship was romantic but ultimatelydoomed. In a life marked by war and disruption; Iltang finally attained both theartistic success he craved, and the spiritualenlightenment he sought in later life. The longing for his "real"mother never left him, however, and it provided him the psychological impetus to succeed in both the worldly andspiritual realms. Iltang's dramatic life story ismade even more vibrant by the chaotic historical context intowhich he was born. It is an interesting portrayal of a unique time and place and an inspiring look at one man's incredible ability to overcome adversity.

About the Author

Biography of Iltang (Kim Tae Shin), 1922--:Born of mixed Japanese/Korean parentage, Iltang?s life was marked by the dual upheavals caused by war and by his own mother who deserted him to become a Buddhist monk. Despite the obstacles, Iltang became a famous artist, and eventually followed his mother?s path by becoming a monk himself in his later years.

Summary: The Lost Mother is a memoir in which Iltang imagines the romance of his parents, an aristocratic Japanese man and a Korean poet and feminist leader, in the early 1920?s. Marriage would have been unheard of in this era, which may have encouraged his mother?s decision to follow the spiritual path of Buddhism and to retire from the world to become a monk. Iltang, reared in loving foster families, found out about her existence at the age of fourteen. His longing for a realrelationship with her persisted throughout his life. His father never married, and eventually died inGermany, where he had been a representative of the Japanese government after World War II.This war as well as the Korean Civil War was the historical context into which Iltang was born. Heutilized his growing fame as an artist to mediate a reconciliation between his two nations through cultural exchanges. Iltang became a Buddhist monk in his later years.