A Daughter of the Samurai

Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto grew up in the snow country of Nagaoka, raised under the strict code of a samurai household just as feudal Japan was giving way to a modern nation. This memoir traces her childhood among old traditions, her betrothal by family arrangement, and her voyage to Cincinnati to marry and build a life in America. She writes with warmth and quiet humor about the customs she carried with her and the wide gulf she learned to cross between two very different worlds. First published in 1925, it was among the earliest firsthand accounts of Japanese life written in English for American readers, and it remains a gentle, observant bridge between cultures. Free to download here as a PDF and EPUB edition.