First published 2015
In 1871, the Japanese government dispatched five young girls to America with an unprecedented mission. These daughters of samurai families would spend a decade learning Western customs before returning to transform women's education in Japan. Three of them became the focus of extraordinary journeys between worlds. Sutematsu Yamakawa, Shige Nagai, and Ume Tsuda left behind a nation torn by civil war and traditional samurai upbringings. They arrived in San Francisco as celebrities, their story captivating American newspapers from coast to coast. For ten years, they lived as ordinary American schoolgirls, forming deep friendships and absorbing a foreign culture. When they returned to Japan, they found themselves strangers in their own homeland. Author Janice P. Nimura draws on extensive archival research from both countries to reconstruct their remarkable story. The book reveals the intimate details of cross-cultural connection and the personal costs of bridging two worlds. These women's experiences illuminate a pivotal moment when Japan opened to the West.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, 19th-century, cultural, asian-american, academic, cultural-studies, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, stranger-in-a-strange-land
Setting: America, Japan, San Francisco
Period: 1871, Civil War
336 pages · Hardcover · W. W. Norton & Company