Beyond the Blossoming Fields

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 the?disgrace 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 one?her 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 and?take the licensing exam. Based on the real-life story of Ginko Ogino?Japan’s first female doctor?Jun'ichi Watanabe?does full justice to the complexity of her character and her world in a fascinating and inspirational work of fiction.

Jun'ichi Watanabe has written numerous scientific texts and biographical books, but he is best known for his works of fiction such as A Lost Paradise; which became a cultural phenomenon in Japan?spawning movies, television programs, and even a new slang expression for having an affair. He has been awarded several major literary prizes, including the Naoki Prize and the Eiji Yoshikawa Prize.