As a young girl from a wealthy family, Ginko Ogino seems set for a conventional life in the male-dominated society of 19th-century Japan. But when she contracts gonorrhea from her husband, she suffers thedisgrace of divorce. Forced to bear the humiliation of being treated by male doctors, she resolves to become a doctor herself in order to treat fellow female sufferers and spare them some of the shame she had to endure. Her struggle is not an easy oneher family disowns her, and she has to convince the authorities to take seriously the very idea of a female doctor and allow her to study alongside male medical students andtake the licensing exam. Based on the real-life story of Ginko OginoJapan s first female doctorJun'ichi Watanabedoes full justice to the complexity of her character and her world in a fascinating and inspirational work of fiction."