Mistress Oriku: Stories from a Tokyo Teahouse Book

While reading this book, I found myself hoping that the world would stop changing. Kawaguchi recalls a lovely part of Japanese history, but it isn't the polished and ideal world we might expect. It is full of political and cultural manipulations, all set around a tea house that is owned and operated by Mistress Oriku. I came to admire her spirit and power, and loved hearing about her life. I felt like I was reading a cultural history instead of a novel. And then, of course, the world began to change as it always does.