Daughters of the Samurai

A New York Times Notable Book of 2015

"Surprising and richly satisfying" (Megan Marshall); "beautifully crafted…subtle, polished, and poised" (Stacy Schiff).

In 1871, five young girls were sent by the Japanese government to the United States. Their mission: learn Western ways and return to help nurture a new generation of enlightened men to lead Japan.

Raised in traditional sam...

A New York Times Notable Book of 2015

"Surprising and richly satisfying" (Megan Marshall); "beautifully crafted…subtle, polished, and poised" (Stacy Schiff).

In 1871, five young girls were sent by the Japanese government to the United States. Their mission: learn Western ways and return to help nurture a new generation of enlightened men to lead Japan.

Raised in traditional samurai households during the turmoil of civil war, three of these unusual ambassadors―Sutematsu Yamakawa, Shige Nagai, and Ume Tsuda―grew up as typical American schoolgirls. Upon their arrival in San Francisco they became celebrities, their travels and traditional clothing exclaimed over by newspapers across the nation. As they learned English and Western customs, their American friends grew to love them for their high spirits and intellectual brilliance.

The passionate relationships they formed reveal an intimate world of cross-cultural fascination and connection. Ten years later, they returned to Japan―a land grown foreign to them―determined to revolutionize women’s education.

Based on in-depth archival research in Japan and in the United States, including decades of letters from between the three women and their American host families, Daughters of the Samurai is beautifully, cinematically written, a fascinating lens through which to view an extraordinary historical moment.

Map; 8 pages of illustrations

作者：贾尼斯·宝莫伦斯·二村（Janice P. Nimura），哥伦比亚大学东亚研究硕士，美国作家、书评人，日本媳妇，在日本生活多年，研究领域：东亚史，日本史。

译者：马霖，现居北京，财经记者，翻译爱好者，中英日三语翻译，目前正研习德语。已出版《民粹主义大爆炸：经济大衰退如何改变美国和欧洲政治》《用天才向极峰探险：乔伊斯导读》。