A Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World

A multi-faceted journey-story about a Japanese woman who stands up to the traditional foundations of society in the first half of the 19th century, as well as a portrait of great Edo—a city that soon will become Tokyo.

Tsuneno, the daughter of a Buddhist priest, was born in 1804 in a small village in Japan. It seemed she would have to repeat exactly the fate of her mother, her grandmother, and all women of previous generations. But after three unsuccessful marriages arranged by her family, this rebellious daughter showed a rebellious spirit and decided to run away from home to the huge, bustling city of the shoguns—Edo, the future Tokyo, where we catch up with her just before the meeting with Western culture.

Tsuneno is our guide through this world. Her story lets us look into 19th-century Japan and meet an extraordinary woman who sacrificed family and reputation in order to reject conventions and begin life from a clean slate. “A Stranger in the Shogun’s City” is an amazing historical book about a woman, a city, and Japanese culture—full of vivid details and written in beautiful language.