Mistress Oriku: Stories from a Tokyo Teahouse

Set in Meiji-era Japan, this is the story of the sensitive, compassionate and indomitable Mistress Oriku. Formerly involved in the pleasure trades of Tokyo, Mistress Oriku leaves that life behind to run an elegant teahouse on the city's outskirts. But despite her hopes for a quieter, less hectic life, she finds she can't escape her involvement in the city's creative, intellectual and political circles.