Mayumi Itoh

Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore and Japan Mayumi Itoh

This book examines the extraordinary life and career of Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore (October 14, 1856-November 3, 1928). She was a pioneering American woman in many respects. Scidmore traveled to the American frontiers, such as the Dakota territory and the Alaskan wilderness-including the Aleutians-and wrote the first travel guide to Alaska. She was also the first female regular correspondent for National Geographic, and wrote extensively about exotic places in the Far East. Moreover, Scidmore was the original proponent for transplanting Japanese flowering cherry trees to the area around the Potomac tidal basin. However, few records of her life have been preserved, and her life is shrouded in mystery. It is high time that she be given overdue credit for enlightening Americans about exotic cultures, in general, and for introducing the Japanese flowering cherry trees to the U. S. capital, in particular.