Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 The girls were taken to meet the Empress of Japan, who was seated behind a bamboo screen. They knelt and placed their hands on the tatami floor, bowing until their foreheads touched their fingertips.#2 The girls were told that when schools for girls were established, they would be examples to their countrywomen. They had no idea what they were getting into, but they knew they had to obey the empress’s commands.#3 Sutematsu Yamakawa, the middle child, was born in 1860. She was the last member of her family to live in a samurai family compound. The garden surrounding the compound was the only decorative element missing from the interiors.#4 The samurai were a hereditary warrior class, and they contributed nothing to the Japanese economy. They administered public life and cultivated the arts of war and of peace. They were loyal to a high code of loyalty and honor.