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

Stanley (history, Northwestern Univ.; Selling Women: Prostitution, Markets, and the Household in Early Modern Japan) offers a look into the lives of ordinary people living in early 19th-century Japan. The bulk of the story follows the life of Tsuneno, the daughter of a Buddhist priest raised in rural Echigo Province (modern day Niigata Prefecture) on the snowy western coast. Although not from the upper echelons of society, being the daughter of a priest meant that Tsuneno and her family were literate. The writings they left behind allow present-day readers to learn much about their lives. After three failed marriages, thirtysomething Tsuneno ran away from home to pursue a new life in the big city of Edo (modern day Tokyo). Throughout the retelling of her life story, readers will discover the lives of Japanese temple families, farmers, big-city samurai, and more. Stanley’s historical narrative of people and place helpfully puts Tsueno’s life within the context of larger national and international events impacting Japan at the time.