The American Diary of a Japanese Girl

Summary

This is the story of Morning Glory’s turn of the century kenbutsu—her travels to America.

Guided by her uncle, a Harvard graduate, Morning Glory travels at a time when most Americans know little or nothing about Japan, aside from the popular tunes of The Mikado (1885) and The Geisha (1896).

Morning Glory is young, fanciful, and full of attitude. An aspiring poet, she writes grand poetry, and even a diary for a local squirrel. She worries about her inadequate grammar, her clothes, her ignorance of Longfellow, the clumsy American cutlery, and the awful smell of cheese.

This story was originally published in two installments in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Monthly Magazine in 1901, and was later republished as a book. It was the first English-language American novel published in the US by a Japanese writer.