Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey From East to West and Back (51 page)

at General Federation of Women’s Clubs convention, 249–50, 255

in Georgetown, 104–5, 115–19, 120–21, 147, 148, 166, 188, 189, 191, 194, 197, 205

at Georgetown Collegiate Institute, 117–18

as historical figure, 277

household established by, 266

on Imperial Palace, 218

as indebted to Japan, 167, 187–88, 194, 207, 234

isolation and loneliness of, 189, 240

Ito family and, 192–94, 197

in Ito residence, 196–97, 198, 203

at Iwakura Mission reunion, 264

Iwakura travel preparations of, 57

Japan as viewed by, 153

Japanese communication skills lacked by, 153, 166, 191

Japanese customs/etiquette and, 165, 167, 187, 194, 205

Japanese Girls and Women
of, 228–29, 230, 231–32

Japanese identity of, 116, 118, 153, 208, 225, 234

Japanese lessons for, 118, 193, 194

in journey back to western U.S., 147–48, 149

letters written to Lanmans by, 153, 156, 161, 164–65, 167, 170–71, 173–74, 180–82, 187–88, 190–93, 198, 200, 204–5, 207, 208–10, 213, 225–27, 241, 244, 249, 253, 255–57, 262–65, 268, 269

marriage and, 171, 183, 189, 191, 225, 227, 235

Martha Miller and, 117

on Mori assassination, 220

in move closer to Peeresses’ School, 209–10

new millennium and, 257

notes written to Adeline Lanman by, in U.S., 104, 116, 119, 135–36, 149, 151

at nursing charity sale, 200, 201

in ocean voyage home, 151, 152–53, 156–57

as official representative of Japan, 150–51

at Oyamas’ ball, 195–96

at Peeresses’ School, 204–5, 206, 209–12, 220, 221, 222, 225, 226, 227, 234, 240, 241, 247, 249, 256, 260

photographs of,
13
, 52–53,
67
, 78, 121,
159
, 265, 266

poor health of, 273, 275

rank of, 204, 207, 209, 256, 258

recognition for, 191, 255, 256

reeducation of, in being Japanese, 162, 164

resignation of, 258, 259

salary of, 204, 211, 212, 256, 258, 260

samurai status of, 266

school founded by,
see
Tsuda College

in shared house with Alice, 212–13

Shige and, 115–16, 134, 164, 182, 183, 203–4, 210, 235, 256, 267–68, 273

Shige’s wedding and, 167–68

Shimoda and, 240

smoking and, 232

in stay with Lanmans, 91, 94, 101, 104–5, 116–19, 123, 124, 126, 134–35, 153, 166, 226

strokes of, 275

subsequent American sojourns of, 225, 226, 227–34, 245, 249–50, 253, 272

Sutematsu and, 108, 115–16, 117, 133, 134–35, 138, 179, 182, 183, 189, 193, 198, 203–4, 210, 215, 235, 253, 273, 275

Sutematsu’s wedding and, 182–83

as teacher, 190–91, 193, 194, 196–98, 204, 208, 210, 211–12, 234, 249, 254, 259, 273

Vassar visited by, 135–36

Western-style clothing of, 165, 196

at Women’s Higher Normal School, 249, 256

women’s place as viewed by, 231, 260, 272–73

see also
Iwakura Mission, girls of

Tsuda College, 259–61, 265–66, 269, 272, 275, 276–77

enrollment at, 260, 269, 277

first house of, 258–59, 260

funds raised for, 256, 257, 258, 269

goal of, 259

monthly literary gatherings at, 262

progressive pedagogy of, 260

role as counterweight to conservatism of, 269–70

second house of, 261–62, 263

teaching methods at, 261, 262–63

third house of, 269

Ume’s planning of, 247, 257, 258

Tsuda family, 56–57, 117, 119, 120, 165, 170–71

Tsuda rope, 188

Tsugaru Straits, 47

Tsuji, Matsu, 275

Tsukiji, 190

Tsuruga Castle, 19, 35–37

siege of, 36–38, 49, 177, 238

Twain, Mark, 92

Ueda, Tei,
13
, 49–50, 52–53, 63, 89, 91, 164, 273–74

return to Japan of, 101, 104, 273

Ueno, 60, 273

Ueno Park, 184

Union Pacific Railroad, 83

United States, 27, 31

centennial of, 121–24

Chinese labor in, 74, 75, 102, 150

Chinese study abroad in, 100, 103, 111, 123

Edo-era visits to, 45–46

Hawaii and, 236

higher education for women in, 128

Japanese females’ travels to, 56–57

Japanese study abroad in, 43, 80, 87–88, 94, 99, 102, 114–15, 118

Japanese trade with, 28, 30, 73

Meiji-era visits to, 43–44, 46–47, 80

music in, 73–74

racial issues in, 92, 102, 150

Sino-Japanese War and, 238, 239

success of men in, 44

women from, 43–44

see also
Iwakura Mission

Uriu, Chiyo, 182, 192

Uriu, Sakae, 244

Uriu, Shige, 12, 49, 50, 59–61, 62, 63, 71, 89, 125–26, 157, 181, 202, 206–7, 219, 224, 277

Abbott family and, 114

Alice and, 216

American scholarship program and, 235

appearance of, 121, 136

at Centennial Exhibition, 123, 179

character of, 132

children of, 182, 192, 196, 208, 235, 244, 245, 253, 266, 270–71

Christianity and, 114

in Connecticut, 101, 105, 107, 112–15, 176

death of, 276

English fluency lost by, 166, 271

Gaiyukai club and, 269

gatherings hosted by, 171–72

at Iwakura Mission reunion, 264

Japanese practiced by, 131–32, 163

Lanmans and, 126, 134, 139, 204

marriage of, 164, 168, 196, 225, 244, 266

maternal qualities of, 189

as mother, 182, 192, 196, 203, 266

music studied by, 95, 132

at nursing charity sale, 201

photographs of,
13
, 52–53,
67
, 78, 121,
159
, 265

Pitman girls and, 114

rank of, 204

in return to Japan, 135, 136–37, 138, 139, 168–69

in return to U.S., 271

Russo-Japanese War and, 270

salary of, 169, 175, 248

smoking and, 232

Sotokichi and, 115, 116, 135, 137, 139, 164, 168, 173, 174, 196, 244, 271

Sutematsu and, 107, 108, 112, 116, 131–32, 133, 138, 139, 141, 161, 164, 179, 183, 253, 267–68, 271, 273

Takeo and Takashi’s deaths and, 271

as teacher, 168–69, 203, 204, 208, 235, 244, 245, 253, 266

Tsuda College and, 267, 269

Ume and, 115, 164, 182, 183, 203–4, 210, 235, 256, 267–68, 273

Vassar attended by, 129, 131–32, 133, 134, 135–36, 225, 226, 262

in Washington, D.C., 91, 96, 105

wedding of, 167–68

at Women’s Higher Normal School, 253, 254, 266

Uriu, Sotokichi, 171–72, 173, 174, 189, 192, 271

death of, 276

in Japanese navy, 235, 236, 244, 264, 270

poor health of, 203, 276

in return to Japan, 135, 137

Shige’s marriage to, 164, 168, 196

in United States, 114–15, 116, 135

Uriu, Takeo, 203, 244, 270–71

Ushigome, 162

Utah Territory, 82

Van Ingen, Henry, 130

Van Name, Addison, 101, 103

Vassar, Matthew, 128, 133–34

Vassar College, 128–34, 135–36, 139–40, 141–42, 146, 163, 173, 175, 225, 226, 239, 262, 271, 293
n

Vassar Miscellany
, 132, 134, 140, 155

Victoria, Queen of England, 209

Vienna Exposition (1873), 188

Wakamatsu, 19, 23, 49

remote Aizu domain in, 23, 27, 31, 50

siege at, 36–38, 48, 49, 105, 238

Tsuruga Castle of, 19, 35–37, 49

Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony, 57

Wakayama, Norikazu, 137

Wakayama, Shiori Louisa, 137–38

Warner, Charles Dudley, 92

warrior honor, 36

Washington, D.C., 46, 82, 88–91, 97, 100, 104, 105, 115–16, 118, 151, 185, 189, 210, 253, 263

blacks in, 92–93, 150

Washington, George, 73

Watanabe, Mitsu, 224, 255, 257–58, 259, 261, 274

Watanabe, Mrs., 212, 213

Weber, Carl Maria von, 276

Wellesley College, 128, 226

Western clothing, 17, 42, 57, 75, 77, 87, 89, 93–94, 97, 104, 123, 165, 168, 185, 196, 197, 213–14, 215–16, 220, 286
n

Western military technology, 28, 29, 33, 34, 185

Western Union, 79

whaling, 27

Wheeler, Jessie, 146, 149, 172

Whitman, Walt, 46

Whitney, Clara, 185, 226

Whitney, Marian, 111, 114

Whitney, William Dwight, 111

Whittier, John Greenleaf, 122

women and girls:

attitudes toward, 12, 24, 127, 187, 206, 240, 260, 272–73

college degrees for, 128

Confucianism and, 23, 25, 240, 260

education for, 17, 25, 44, 55–56, 57, 81, 113, 128, 145, 163, 170, 178, 187, 188, 190, 193, 199, 210–11, 231, 234–35, 247–50, 257, 259, 260, 269–70, 271, 272–73

enlightenment of Japan and, 56, 102, 198

marriage and, 167, 171, 172, 179, 248

Meiji-era dress and appearance of, 15–16, 50–51, 70

obedience and, 25, 37, 43, 48

personal grooming for, 17

qualities required of, 25–26

salaries of, 169

as samurai wives, 43

Sino-Japanese War and, 239

smoking by, 232

on stage, 174

studies abroad for, 17, 44, 48, 51, 99, 227, 228–34

as subordinate, 23, 187

suffrage for, 81

weapons used by, 25, 34–35

work and, 248

see also
Iwakura Mission, girls of

women and girls, American, 43–44, 78, 145, 175–76, 249–50

corsets worn by, 286
n

higher education for, 128

suffrage for, 81

Women’s Higher Normal School, 163, 175, 178, 225, 235, 247, 249, 253, 254, 256, 257, 310
n

Woodward, R. B., 76

Wordsworth, William, 147, 251

World War I, 275

Wyoming Territory, 86

Yale University, 99, 100, 101–2, 105, 111, 112, 129, 145, 171, 253, 274

Yamada, Akiyoshi, 219

Yamakawa, Futaba, 163, 175

Yamakawa, Hiroshi, 36–37, 41, 47, 48–49, 163, 170, 177

as Aizu domain leader in Tonami, 38–39, 48

Yamakawa, Kenjiro, 36, 40, 41, 43, 120, 133, 140, 154, 162, 170, 253, 274

American study abroad of, 43, 44, 48, 99–100

Sutematsu looked after in U.S. by, 99–100, 101, 103–4, 105, 107, 110, 112, 116, 163

Yamakawa, Makoto, 274

Yamakawa, Misao, 133, 163, 200

Yamakawa, Shigekata, 19

Yamakawa, Toi, 35, 37, 48–49, 146, 162, 163

Yamakawa, Tose, 37

Yamakawa compound, 19–20, 35, 155

servants of, 20, 155

Yamakawa family, 48, 155, 162–63, 170, 177, 178

dolls collected by, 26, 34

ferried on American ships, 38

malnutrition of, 39, 40

security and prestige of, 41

Yamakawa, Sutematsu,
see
Oyama, Sutematsu Yamakawa

Yancy
, 38

Yokohama, 50, 56, 59, 70, 156, 161–62, 197, 212, 257, 267, 288
n

Yoshida, Kiyonari, 118, 123–24, 179–80

Yoshida, Mrs., 180

Yoshihito, Taisho Emperor of Japan, 218
n
, 272, 274, 276

Yoshimasu, Ryo,
13
, 49–50, 52–53, 59, 63–64, 65, 89, 95, 164, 285
n

death of, 208

eye troubles of, 85, 96, 100–101, 164

return to Japan of, 101, 104, 117, 273

Young, Brigham, 84

Yung Wing, 100, 101

AUTHOR’S NOTE

T
HIS IS THE STORY
of three girls who were born in one world and sent, by forces beyond their comprehension, to grow up in an entirely different one. There, like all children, they absorbed the lessons of their surroundings. Though they were, each of them, purebred daughters of the samurai, they became hybrid by nurture. Ten years later, they returned to a homeland grown alien in their absence.

I live in the city where I was born, like my parents and grandparents before me. But my story converges with the one I’m telling. On the first day of college, I met a boy who was born in Japan. His family had left Tokyo for Seattle when he was very small, and announced their decision to return “home” when he was sixteen. For him, home was America. They left, and he stayed.

Two years after our graduation and two months after our wedding, we moved to Tokyo ourselves. In many ways, my sojourn there was easier than my husband’s. As my Japanese improved, I was praised for my accent, my manners, my taste for sea urchin and pickled plums. My face excused me from my failures—I was a foreigner, after all. My husband enjoyed no such immunity. He looked Japanese, he sounded Japanese—why didn’t he act Japanese?

Upon our return to New York three years later, I went to graduate school in East Asian studies and fell into a fascination with Meiji-era Japan, the moment when the Land of the Gods wrenched its gaze from
the past and turned toward the shiny idols of Western industrial progress. One day, in the basement stacks of a venerable library, I found a slim green volume titled
A Japanese Interior
, by Alice Mabel Bacon, a Connecticut schoolteacher. It was a memoir of a year she had spent in Tokyo in the late 1880s, living with “Japanese friends, known long and intimately in America.” This was strange. Nineteenth-century American women didn’t generally have Japanese friends, certainly not ones they had met in America.

Alice came from New Haven, where I had spent my college years; she moved to Tokyo and lived not among foreigners, but in a Japanese household, as I had; she taught at one of Japan’s first schools for girls, founded within a year of the one I attended in New York a century later. She wrote with a candid wit that reminded me of my own teachers, unfussy bluestockings with no patience for pretension. Following where Alice led, I discovered the entwined lives of Sutematsu Yamakawa Oyama, Alice’s foster sister and the first Japanese woman to earn a bachelor’s degree; Ume Tsuda, whose pioneering women’s English school Sutematsu and Alice helped to launch; and Shige Nagai Uriu, who juggled seven children and a teaching career generations before the phrase “working mother” was coined.