"A vivid, deeply researched work of history that explores the life of an unconventional woman during the first half of the 19th century in Edo-the city that would become Tokyo-and a portrait of a great city on the brink of a momentous encounter with the West."--

The daughter of a Buddhist priest, Tsuneno was born in a rural Japanese village and was expected to live a traditional life much like her mother's. But after three divorces, and a temperament much too strong-willed for her family's approval, she ran away to make a life for herself in one of the largest cities in the world: Edo, a bustling metropolis at its peak.