The American Diary of a Japanese Girl (1901) is a novel by Yone
Noguchi. Published in New York alongside illustrations by Genjiro Yeto,
the novel was styled as a fascinating tell-all written by a young
Japanese tourist. Composed with the assistance of Léonie Gilmour and
Blanche Partington, The American Diary of a Japanese Girl was
Noguchi's first novel and a major departure from his poetry at the time.
An 18-year-old Japanese woman going by the name Miss Morning Glory
embarks on a journey from her native country to the United States.
Accompanied by her uncle, a wealthy industrialist, Morning Glory arrives
in San Francisco via steamship. She soon befriends the American wife of
a Japanese diplomat, who introduces her to minstrel shows and
vaudeville. Left to her own devices, Morning Glory takes over a local
cigar shop in Chinatown and begins to assimilate into American life and
culture. When she meets Heine, an older poet from Oakland, Morning Glory
is inspired to pursue a career as a writer. As she travels across the
expansive American landscape with her uncle, she comments on the people
and places she encounters along the way. Through her eyes we see the
country in a strange new light, perhaps more truth than fiction. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition of Yone Noguchi's The American Diary of a Japanese Girl is a
classic of Japanese American literature reimagined for modern readers.