A Daughter of the Samurai: A Memoir by Etsu Inagaki SugimotoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"And what is life if one can only learn, and of what one learns gives nothing?"
Here is yet another book that gently came into my life and gave me both comfort and strength, at perhaps one of my spirit's lowest points. Originally published in 1926, who can fail to be moved and inspired by the courage of this gently-reared samurai lady who went to America, reared a family there, then moved back to Japan after a tragedy? This is no fiction, for Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto did indeed grow up in the dying days of the Meiji period, and the amount of detail as she wrote about her childhood will fascinate everyone! Think THE LAST SAMURAI, but the protagonist is a woman! Add a little bit of LITTLE WOMEN and you get this unforgettable memoir.
"Standards of duty differ on opposite sides of the world, but Japanese people never flinch at its call... if duty lies behind, undone, nothing, while life lasts, can break the heart pull, the brain planning, the soul prayer to reach, even partially, the lost goal. Such is the deep-hidden soul of Japan."
As you can imagine, tales of unbelievable sacrifice and an "unswerving duty to highest belief" abound. The nonchalance with which she writes how her mother burned their mansion to the ground (to avoid it being taken over by the political enemies of her father) gave me chills! As well as other incredible details, such as the sacred blade given to their ancestors by Tokugawa Ieyasu himself, and the fact that every samurai family has a head-bucket (with which to hold the proof of obedience to a lord's final commandment to a vassal).
"Remember: where you live is a small matter. The life of a samurai is just the same: loyalty to your lord, bravery in defense of his honor. It will bring you peace."
This book should be made into a movie! And the quiet grace and strength of this incredible woman is an example I pray I can emulate.
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