Woman in the Crested Kimono: The Life of Shibue Io and Her Family Drawn from Mori Ogai's Shibue Chusai

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Summary: Woman with a "keen mind, fearless spirit"
Review: Working from Mori Ogai's biography of Shibue Chusai, a 19th century Japanese doctor in service to the Tsugaru Shogunate, the author of this book focuses rather on the extraordinary life of his wife, Io. Supplementing Ogai's text with his own research, McClellan covers the span of her difficult and remarkable life from her marriage to Chusai, the births (and deaths) of her children, the death of Chusai, and her latter days spent moving all over Japan with her family, trying to eke out a meager living. Japan at this time was going through significant changes as power was wrested from feudal landlords and "restored" to the Emperor Meiji. As a result, Io's entire life changed; born to privilege and affluence, she and her family lost both their status and their income in the restoration. What is amazing about Io is how unconventional she is, and how her story resists the stereotype of the demure, powerless woman (especially in 19th century Japan). Io is not afraid to carry a dagger and pull it out and threaten to use it on thugs who would harm her. And after her husband's death she declines invitations to live with relatives, opting instead to maintain her autonomy even with its threat of greater poverty. She is exceptionally well educated, and learns to read English in her sixties. But McClellan is also careful to place Io's story within its historical context, reminding us of the real limitations she faced because of her sex. He still surmises, however, on her opinions on the issues affecting her quickly changing society, such as women's voting rights and Western scholarship. Above all, Io is portrayed as a woman who combines qualities of strength and courage with tolerance. These are the exact qualities one needed to survive in the world she inhabited, and her possession of them ensured, no doubt, her remarkable success.