A Daughter of the Samurai

A Daughter of the Samurai is written by Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto. Her story, as Sugimoto tells it, is: “How a daughter of feudal Japan, living hundreds of years in one generation, became a modern American.” In this book, intriguing intimate episodes involving love, duty, and family ties are revealed even as there was clash of cultures and misunderstandings between Japanese and Western ways. While living between a semi-mythical past and a resurgent international scenario, the author recounts the personal impact of the profound social changes brought about by Japanese-American relations during the Meiji period. Sugimoto offers an insider’s view of traditional Japanese samurai family life as it is in the process of being brushed off.

Although the book contains several chapters, it starts with author’s description of Japan. In the very first chapter ‘Winters in Echigo,’ Sugimoto tells, Japan is often called by foreign people a land of sunshine and cherry blossoms. Among her delicate and significant anecdotes, she tells of the Japanese fiancée whose betrothed had a plum-blossom as his family crest.