Samurai of Gold Hill is based on the history of a real Japanese settlement, the Wakamatsu Colony. Its site was made a California Historical Landmark in 1969, one hundred years after its founding. The Japanese civil war, the village of Wakamatsu, Lord Matsudaira, Herr Schnell, and the servant Okei are all genuine historical figures. Out of the historical facts, Uchida has tried to depict what life would have been like for the Japanese colonists. Her Japanese characters cling to their customs, finding in them a sense of community that helps them fend off the hostility of their new land. Although Toyoko becomes more independent in her new home, she does not stray beyond historically believable limits; she remains subject to the wishes of the men.

Although Toyoko and Koichi function as realistic and complex characters in the novel, they also serve as symbols of a new Japanese...