Heart of a Samurai

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Parts 1-2

Part 3

Part 4-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Background

Historical Context: Manjiro Nakahama and Ending Japan's Isolationism

Heart of a Samurai takes place at the end of the Tokugawa or Edo period in Japan, which lasted from 1603 to 1868. During this era, Japan isolated itself from the outside world. Although the novel depicts Japan as entirely isolated, the law allowed trade with some outside nations, albeit limited to certain cities and heavily policed. Ordinary people were not allowed to leave Japan and could not reenter if they left, which Manjiro’s experience reflects.

The novel presents the view that Japan isolated itself to prevent Western influence from corrupting its culture. While partially accurate, it represents a Eurocentric perspective on the complex issue. Japan also contended with Asian powers and wanted to maintain control of its politics and trade. Additionally, the government did not entirely isolate the nation from outside influence; Dutch trade continued, and Dutch writings allowed Japanese leaders to remain abreast of developments in the West. While partially motivated by the rising power of Europe, isolationism was a response to a complex and rapidly changing geopolitical situation.

The novel presents Manjiro’s story somewhat accurately. While Preus acknowledges that some characters, such as Jolly and Tom, are her inventions, most names and characters are consistent with historical records. Manjiro’s time in Massachusetts is somewhat dramatized; he spent far less time living with the captain than suggested in the novel. Manjiro’s dream to become a samurai is based on historical reality; he became a hatamoto, or a low-ranking samurai, in 1853, making history for Japanese people of common birth.

Cultural Context: The Edo Period and Fragile Beginnings of Japanese and American Cultural Exchange

Heart of a Samurai includes many references to Japanese culture, particularly samurai culture. During the time of the novel’s setting, the shogun and the emperor ruled Japan, with several hundred feudal lords called daimyos under them managing the land, with samurai under them as enforcers. The Edo period was a time of artistic and scientific developments now known worldwide, such as the haiku. Due to Manjiro’s impoverished upbringing, however, he would have been largely unaware of many of these cultural developments, except for the famed—and often infamous—samurai.

The samurai were military nobility, somewhat comparable to European knights, who in theory followed a strict code, bushido, which governed their behavior. While bushido was an influential doctrine, few samurai followed it to the letter, choosing instead to follow their cultural or familial traditions. Bushido is most useful as an umbrella term enveloping many samurai codes and traditions. By Manjiro’s time, samurai had become largely ceremonial, with their weapons and practices being symbolic rather than practical. Many samurai under the employ of daimyos were scholars rather than warriors. Unemployed samurai—called ronin—were also common. Goemon’s reference to samurai brutality is likely a reference to ronin, who could kill commoners with some measure of immunity.

Manjiro often contrasts Japan with America, leading to moments of fragile exchange between the two nations. Since Japan and America had no trade relations, their cultures rarely interacted during this time. Whaling was especially prominent on the East Coast and was the center of America’s commercial exchanges with other countries and cultures. As the novel notes, whaling was a primary motivator in Commodore Perry’s enforced opening of Japan in 1852, as whalers wanted to land and resupply on Japan’s coasts.