Samurai of Gold Hill

Here is a story based on a true, if almost forgotten, incident in California history: the founding of the Wakamatsu colony, a Japanese society near Sacramento, by exiles from the wars that wracked Japan and devoted to the growing of tea and the cultivation of mulberry for silk worms.

The year is 1869 and young Koichi dreams of becoming a samurai like his father. But when their clan is defeated along with the Shogun in a fierce battle, he suddenly finds himself going to America to become a farmer. Even there Koichi and his father cannot escape confrontation, as hostile miners bring tragedy to Wakamatsu. It is impossible not to get caught up in Koichi’s own hopes, fears, and joys as he makes a difficult decision worthy of the noblest samurai.