Experience the lives of the first Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest through the cartoons and illustrations in the book, Seattle Samurai, by Sam Goto
Sam Shigeru Goto, born on January 13, 1933, was a second-generation Japanese American from the Seattle area. By trade, he was a dental technician, practicing in Seattle for over 55 years. Sam was also an artist, drawing endlessly since childhood. He created the comic strip "Seattle Tomodachi" (Friend of Seattle), which ran for five years in The North American Post. This comic strip left a lasting legacy, celebrating the immigrant journey and Seattle’s Japanese American heritage while striving to live the American dream. Sam and his wife of 56 years, Dee, collaborated on a series of illustrated books capturing their heritage values and family history. He passed away peacefully at the age of 84 on December 31, 2017.
Kelly Goto is a global lecturer, educator and author of the industry classic, "Web Redesign 2.0: Workflow That Works." Goto currently heads up gotomedia, a global leader in research-driven strategy and solutions for digital products and connected experiences.
Kelly grew up as a fourth-generation Japanese American in the drizzly weather of the Pacific Northwest, starting her calligraphy and graphic design businesses while in elementary school—a precursor to her entrepreneurial future. She played Chieko in the stage production of “The Gold Watch” in 1977, where she learned about racism and anti-Japanese sentiment after Pearl Harbor.
Kelly hopes to simplify content so the tech-addicted new generation might engage with it—hoping stories of culture, history, and wisdom might be better understood. She returned to Seattle in 2020 after three decades away, and now lives in her childhood home with her genki 85-year old mom, Dee, two teenage daughters, and a playful Bernedoodle named Suki.
Read more at www.kellygoto.com
Dee (Miyamoto) Goto is a Sansei (third generation Japanese American) who was born and raised in Oregon/Idaho's Treasure Valley area. She moved to Seattle to attend school where she received her degree in Psychosocial Nursing from the University of Washington. Dee believes strongly in the power of story-telling and the benefits and importance of sharing Japanese culture and values with the Seattle Community specifically to set an example for the whole American community.
Wendy Tokuda grew up in Shigeru’s Seattle and started her career there. For more than 35 years, she anchored prime-time TV newscasts, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her reporting has won multiple awards, including a Peabody, a national Emmy, and seven regional Emmy awards. Her parents were incarcerated in the Minidoka Internment Camp.
