Seattle Samurai A Cartoonist’s Perspective

Wednesday, Oct. 23 and Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

This month, Seattle publisher Chin Music Press will publish “Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist’s Perspective of the Japanese American Experience,” a collection of Goto’s “Seattle Tomodachi” cartoons with extensive commentary provided by his daughter, Kelly Goto, who assembled the book.

Throughout “Seattle Samurai,” Kelly Goto illuminates the strips with commentary and photographs that delve into the real-life inspirations of many of the strips. From providing family history to describing traditional Japanese New Year’s meals to explaining the history of well-known Chinatown International District businesses like Uwajimaya and the Panama Hotel, her notes open up the world of “Seattle Tomodachi” for readers who aren’t intimately familiar with Seattle, or the Japanese American immigrant experience.