Etsuko Sugimoto

A daughter of the Samurai

"A Daughter of the Samurai" by Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto is an autobiographical novel published in 1925. The book follows Etsu-bō's journey from Japan to America, exploring the contrasts between women's lives in both cultures. Written to reveal that "hearts are the same on both sides of the world," it examines gender roles, social freedoms, and the "subtle power" of women in each society. Despite anti-Asian immigration sentiment of the era, the book became remarkably successful, selling ten million copies by 1962.