Russ Crawford

Canadian Samurai: One Man's Battle for Acceptance Russ Crawford

Masumi Mitsui descended from an ancient line of rulers and warriors who helped forge the country of Japan. His grandfather was one of the last samurai to serve a Japanese emperor. None of this mattered when he immigrated to Canada in 1908. Instead of being accepted and honored as a new citizen, he encountered brutal hatred and bigotry.

His journey for acceptance took him to the trenches of World War 1, then home to Canada as a decorated war hero with a new cause to fight for-the rights of Japanese Canadians. But all of Masumi's hard-earned victories counted for little when, on December 7, 1941 a stealthy Japanese navy unleashed a violent attack on the U. S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. In one day, Japanese Canadians became enemies of their own country.

Canadian Samurai is a gripping biography of a Canadian immigrant who was never widely recognized for his courage and honor or his contribution to Canada. He was a civil rights leader before anyone knew what that was. And through decades of victories and betrayals, Masumi lived by the ancient bushido code of honor-a code that still resonates today.