A Daughter of the Samurai
by Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto
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"A bestseller when it was first published in 1925, A Daughter of the Samurai is the memoir of Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto: the youngest daughter of a renowned samurai, born durign Japan's last days of feudalism. Originally destined to be a Buddhist priestess, Etsu grows up a curly-haird tomboy in snowy Echigo, certain of her future role in her community. But as a young teenager, she is instead engaged to a Japanese merchant in Ohio -- and Etsu realizes she will eventually have to leave the only show more world she has ever known for the United States. Etsu arrives in Cincinnati as a bright-eyed and observant twenty-four-year-old, puzzled by the differences between the two cultures and alive to the contradictions, ironies, and beauty of both. Her memoir, reprinted for the first time in decades, is a tribute to the struggles of the first generation of Japanese immigrants and the unforgettable story of a strong and determined woman"--Publisher's description. show lessTags
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A daughter of the samurai: how a daughter of feudal Japan, living hundreds of years in one generation, became a modern American. The most striking thing is that she is describing her childhood from the inside, as the Samurai daughter being brought up into the traditional woman's role and ALSO having the education almost of a son (both roles stiff with honor and hedged with tradition)--but from the perspective of the American acculturated woman that she became--and that this is the _same person_.
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9+ Works 260 Members
Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto (1874-1950) was born in Nagaoka, Japan, the daughter of a high-ranking advisor to a powerful lord, a few years after the Meiji Restoration ended Japan's feudal system. Her father died when she was eleven; soon afterward, she became engaged to Matsunosuke Sugimoto, a merchant living in the United States. Etsu arrived in show more Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1898. Later she lived in New York City, where she taught Japanese language, culture, and history at Columbia University. show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Tochter der Samurai
- Original title
- A daughter of the Samurai
- Alternate titles*
- Eine Tochter der Samurai; Eine junge Japanerin
- Original publication date
- 1925
- People/Characters
- Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto
- Important places*
- Japan; USA
- Original language*
- Englisch
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 230
- Popularity
- 140,902
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.94)
- Languages
- 6 — Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 27
- ASINs
- 17
