Bend with the Wind: The Life, Family, and Writings of Grace Eto Shibata tells the story of one family's belief in the American dream. Spanning one hundred years, the tale begins with Shibata’s parents’ immigration to California’s Central Coast in the early twentieth century. The narrative follows a generation of pioneers whose resilience and determination built strong families and strong communities. It recounts how an ethnic community wove its unique pattern into the fabric of American society only to be disenfranchised during World War II. It describes the family’s incarceration, exile, service in the U.S. military, and postwar resettlement.

Bend with the Wind details the values that bound Shibata’s tightly knit family and supported her throughout her life—a life shaped by World War II, an arranged marriage, a family business, and motherhood. The book, written by her daughter Naomi Shibata, celebrates Shibata’s life as a wife, mother, businesswoman, activist, author, and seventy-four-year-old college graduate.

About the Author: Naomi Shibata is a third-generation American of Japanese ancestry (Nikkei), born and raised in California. Her grandfather was among the Japanese immigrants interned at Fort Missoula during World War II. In 1953, once race was no longer a pre-qualification for naturalized citizenship, Naomi’s grandfather became a citizen of the United States.

A docent and writing workshop leader with the National Japanese American Historical Society in San Francisco, Naomi delivers guest lectures on the Nikkei experience to historical societies, museums, schools, service organizations, libraries, and book clubs. Naomi is a University of California graduate and a high technology industry veteran.


Bend with the Wind: The Life, Family, and Writings of Grace Eto Shibata tells the story of one family's belief in the American dream. Spanning one hundred years, the tale begins with Shibata’s parents’ immigration to California’s Central Coast in the early twentieth century. The narrative follows a generation of pioneers whose resilience and determination built strong families and strong communities. It recounts how an ethnic community wove its unique pattern into the fabric of American society only to be disenfranchised during World War II. It describes the family’s incarceration, exile, service in the U.S. military, and postwar resettlement.

Bend with the Wind details the values that bound Shibata’s tightly knit family and supported her throughout her life—a life shaped by World War II, an arranged marriage, a family business, and motherhood. The book, written by her daughter Naomi Shibata, celebrates Shibata’s life as a wife, mother, businesswoman, activist, author, and seventy-four-year-old college graduate.

About the Author: Naomi Shibata is a third-generation American of Japanese ancestry (Nikkei), born and raised in California. Her grandfather was among the Japanese immigrants interned at Fort Missoula during World War II. In 1953, once race was no longer a pre-qualification for naturalized citizenship, Naomi’s grandfather became a citizen of the United States.

A docent and writing workshop leader with the National Japanese American Historical Society in San Francisco, Naomi delivers guest lectures on the Nikkei experience to historical societies, museums, schools, service organizations, libraries, and book clubs. Naomi is a University of California graduate and a high technology industry veteran.

Bend with the Wind: The Life, Family, and Writings of Grace Eto Shibata tells the story of one family's belief in the American dream. Spanning one hundred years, the tale begins with Shibata’s parents’ immigration to California’s Central Coast in the early twentieth century. The narrative follows a generation of pioneers whose resilience and determination built strong families and strong communities. It recounts how an ethnic community wove its unique pattern into the fabric of American society only to be disenfranchised during World War II. It describes the family’s incarceration, exile, service in the U.S. military, and postwar resettlement.

Bend with the Wind details the values that bound Shibata’s tightly knit family and supported her throughout her life—a life shaped by World War II, an arranged marriage, a family business, and motherhood. The book, written by her daughter Naomi Shibata, celebrates Shibata’s life as a wife, mother, businesswoman, activist, author, and seventy-four-year-old college graduate.

About the Author: Naomi Shibata is a third-generation American of Japanese ancestry (Nikkei), born and raised in California. Her grandfather was among the Japanese immigrants interned at Fort Missoula during World War II. In 1953, once race was no longer a pre-qualification for naturalized citizenship, Naomi’s grandfather became a citizen of the United States.

A docent and writing workshop leader with the National Japanese American Historical Society in San Francisco, Naomi delivers guest lectures on the Nikkei experience to historical societies, museums, schools, service organizations, libraries, and book clubs. Naomi is a University of California graduate and a high technology industry veteran.