For some reason, I started reading this thinking it was fiction (and that was after reading an online review of it!) I don't quite know how I got so mixed up, but I spent the first chapter thinking that it was really badly written fiction. Thankfully, I soon realised it was non fiction, and started appreciating it a lot more.

I've become a lot more interested in Japanese fiction and history since visiting last year, so this was a great read. It was a great blend of information about Tsuneno herself and Japan/culture as a whole. I was fascinated by the idea of the "divorce" and that no scandal was attached to it - such a difference to Western attitudes at the same time. The section on Edo (now Tokyo) was really interesting.

An intriguing and enjoyable book, more so for the historical context rather then the life of Tsuneno herself. Born into a Buddhist priest's family, Tsuneno finds herself in Edo and the period of history just prior to the arrival of Commodore Perry's fleet in 1854 which led the way to Japan opening up its borders, and for Edo to be transformed into the newly-named capital, Tokyo.

As an academic, Amy Stanley's book is clearly well-researched and comes with a lot (for a non-academic I mean a lot!) of footnotes. Perhaps best just to go with the flow, and then dip into the footnotes as and when you finish a chapter - or indeed the whole book. Using the life of Tsuneno as a way of exploring the period is an interesting idea, but as I say I got more of the history than the biography, which is fine. 3.5 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Amy Stanley’s history book Stranger in the Shogun’s City is primarily about a Japanese woman called Tsuneno who was born in the northern Japanese province of Echigo (now Niigata) in 1804 and eventually fled the dull rural life for the more exciting city life on offer in Edo (the old name for Tokyo). It’s also about Edo and the radical change that it would experience during and shortly after Tsuneno’s lifetime.

I picked this one up with the expectation that Tsuneno’s story must be a remarkable one given that she was nobody especially noteworthy but an entire book was written about her. And, disappointingly, it turned out to be a mundane life story: she married multiple times, independently made her own decisions - like going to live in Edo when she was expected to settle down in the countryside - and worked numerous menial jobs before dying fairly young at the age of 49.

I’ll give Stanley kudos for the amount of effort that went into researching this book, deciphering the complex and outdated Japanese of the time, and it’s amazing that so much primary source material still exists - Tsuneno and her family, particularly her eldest brother Giyu, were prolific letter writers and record keepers so that every scrap of correspondence was held onto.

But I feel like this one falls into the murkily politicised subgenre of feminist history where, in addition to the large amount of primary material available, the book exists to highlight a Strong, Independent Woman more than anything. Stanley makes the point in her conclusion that history tends to focus on men and their achievements, ie. Commodore Matthew Perry, who opened Japan up to trade with the outside world, rather than, say, the ordinary women who work behind the scenes to keep the wheels of society turning.

And while I agree that ordinary people’s lives of course play a part in history and teach us just as much about our past as notable historical figures do, the reason why history tends to spotlight certain individuals, like Commodore Matthew Perry, is less about sexism than it is for the obvious fact that their lives were more interesting and unique than most people’s (including ordinary men, not just ordinary women).

That’s basically why I wasn’t that engaged by this book: Tsuneno’s life just wasn’t that interesting. Stanley does bring her world to life well, explaining how society was structured - both in Echigo and Edo, contextualising the figures and events that affected Tsuneno’s life - if you’re after a portrait of early 19th century Japan, this book is for you. But that’s not what I was looking for and the extensive passages on Edo minutiae really bored me while I waited for something astonishing to happen to Tsuneno and it never did.

If nothing else, this book underlines the importance of writing for everyone, today and always - not just professional writers or wannabes, but ordinary people writing about their everyday lives. One day, assuming your correspondence survives, you too might have a future historian write a book about you!

As someone who would class myself as a Japanophile or shinnichi (親日), I appreciate Japanese culture, people and history. This book only served to increase my fascinating with the enigmatic country. It follows a normal Japanese woman named Tsuneno as she attempts to navigate her way through life with no real guidance and no real sense of where her place in the world was to be located. It's essentially her biography where she details much of her life and it certainly came across as though the author had extensively researched her topic beforehand; she seems to be rather passionate about giving this woman a voice.

Chronicling the life of an 1840s lower-class woman who lived in an epoch where things were beginning to change both socially and politically. Based on real documentation the author is careful with what she includes but it is certainly interesting to follow a person from cradle to grave and watch their triumphs, trials and tribulations.

Women were expected to be seen and not heard, to be subservient and not to question things that don't concern them but Tsuneno didn't want to live like that and so she didn't. It almost referred to having children as ”a woman's reason for being on on earth” and this made me feel a teeny bit uncomfortable but of course that was the attitude at the time. Part of Japan’s magic is the mysterious way in which everything bumbles along without anyone paying much attention but in Stranger in the Shogun’s City the development and evolution of the political and social issues of that time period are displayed and Tsuneno likely represents many a woman's experience in 40s Edo (Tokyo). Many thanks to Chatto & Windus for an ARC.

Stanley's work right from writing style to translation is incredible. I was in a aww with jaw dropped after reading this book. A perfect read for readers who love Japanese Stories and history.

The description in the book is gorgeoussssss!

I would definitely recommend this book

Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who reads and researches a lot about Japan knows that there isn’t much tangible social history about those outwith the nobility. This book seeks to shine some light onto a life of an “ordinary” Japanese woman coming of age in the early 19th century. This was a time of huge political and social change in Japan and it was still largely closed off from the wider world and the social and cultural influences of the time. I say “ordinary” because Tsuneno was still rather privileged by the standards of the time, at the beginning of her life at least.

The book is clearly exhaustively researched and is based on the real letters and documents found in Tsuneno’s family archive. It follows her life from birth until death, focusing particularly when she moves from her rural village in the Snow Country, to Edo, (now Tokyo) after a series of disastrous marriages.

I really enjoyed the perspective of a working woman’s life during this time in Tokyo. Although Tsuneno came from privilege, she leaves that behind when she moves to Edo and works in a series of low paid jobs to try and survive, at some points only possessing one piece of clothing. It’s impossible not to feel admiration for her strength of character, and her force of will that remains unbroken through the numerous trials and tribulations she faces in her life. When I lived in Japan, I came across a phrase 出る杭は打たれる which translates roughly to “the nail that stands up must be hammered down, Tsuneno never allows this to happen to herself which is even more remarkable considering the times in which she lived and how easy it would have been for her to go back home to a life of relative wealth and comfort.

The book was written in a strange way at times. I can’t quite place my finger on what the issue was, something to do with the way the third person perspective conflicted with the imagined thoughts and motivations of Tsuneno. It took a bit of getting used to and if you like your history to consist of impartial facts based on evidence you may take issue with the approach the author has taken here to relate Tsuneno’s story.

I also found it a little strange how much focus there was on the fact that Tsuneno never had children despite her numerous marriages. I didn’t see any evidence that this was something that actually bothered her personally. Undoubtedly there would have been pressure on women at the time to have children but do we have any evidence that this was something Tsuneno herself despaired of? Considering her circumstances and yearning for freedom to make her own way, I can’t see that it was something she would have been upset about. Perhaps another example of when the author puts her own spin on Tsuneno’s story but it came up enough to be a little irksome.

A slightly flawed portrait of a truly remarkable woman. This book is not perfect, but it gives a rare insight into the world of Japan during this tumultuous period of history and gives a voice to someone sadly so often unheard.

This biography is clearly well researched, and the author goes to into great detail to describe the intricacies of everyday life for Tsuneno. I feel it is a very ambitious project, attempting a biography of a lower class woman in 1840s Japan, but it is one that has paid off. There are already many historical accounts of Japanese figures, so it was unique for the focus to be on someone that Japanese society would not have thought important at the time.

The only thing that I did not enjoy as much, was the occasional use of ‘might have’ by the author. She sometimes suggested things Tsuneno might have seen or done, and personally I prefer a more straightforward factual biography. However, this is my personal taste and others may enjoy this aspect of the book.