Foreword

Lori Tsugawa Whaley hones in on the most significant and memorable aspects of the samurai warrior that we all can imagine within ourselves and others. You will be immediately drawn to the author’s view and experience as a Japanese American baby boomer searching for knowledge in the form of tradition and culture from her ancestral hearth. Through Whaley, we see that the samurai warrior is a master, teacher, and philosopher, and we begin to understand why the spirit and the meaning of the samurai transcend. We learn that exemplars of the ancient samurai remain with us today and that we would be best served to remember and honor the best of our past as we move forward in time.

Whaley takes us through a special journey intertwined with admiration, pride, grief, struggle, sadness, respect, and hope. In a most thoughtful way, we understand the samurai warrior as most humane, and because of this, we become more conscious, engaged and more present in the world.

—A. Daktari Alexander, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Interaction Transition