This book is a tribute to our grandparents and great-grandparents. Theirs is a story of adventure and heartbreak, bridging the Pacific Ocean and a cultural divide. They struggled to make America their home at a time when Japanese were viewed with mistrust, and lived through World War II separated from family. The children were destined to witness the horrors of Hiroshima, while in America their parents endured internment camps. ‘Monogatari’ in Japanese, means epic tale. Even though the stories related to me in this book are autobiographical in nature, they are so breathtakingly foreign from my own life experiences that they could be fiction. They are cautionary tales of the ravages of war and inspirational tales of determination and survival. ‘Kihara Monogatari’ is a way for me to preserve these stories for future generations of the Kihara family, so that they too can become acquainted with the grandparents I love.