"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."--

Faraway Places -- Half a Lifetime in the Countryside -- To Edo -- A View from a Tenement -- Samurai Winter -- Costumes for Urban Life -- Troubles at Home -- In the Office of the City Magistrate -- Endings and Afterlives.