Keiko's Kimono : A Doll's Journey to America in 1869 With the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony

Okei was a 17-year-old girl living in Aizu, Japan during the tumultuous time of the Boshin Civil War. With her world rapidly disintegrating around her, her fate became even more uncertain when her neighbor, Prussian arms merchant and samurai, John Henry Schnell, asked her to go to America with him to help his wife care for their infant child. Okei reluctantly agreed, as a matter of duty and honor to her family, her Lord, and her domain. In this historic novel, Herb Tanimoto weaves a compelling and heartfelt story into the known facts about the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony. A docent and archivist at the historic farm, the author uses historical resources and recollections from Veerkamp family descendants to bring to life a tale of hope, love, suspense, honor, retribution, exultation and disappointment.