This is a novel set in Japan, in the 19th Century, at a time of change, Western ideas and nationalistic pride.
Sei is an "elderly", 50 year old storyteller, from a long line of storytellers, who used to be famous but now, not so much. He's going through a dry patch and can't think of what to write.
He has three daughters, but they were all safely married off, or so he thought--until two come home with problems in their marriages and their life.
Master Sei is very much an observer, some things he understands, other things, close to home, seem to pass him by.
In the meantime, he gets pulled into a secret organisation's plotting for a war against Korea, but his tales seem to have a life of their own and are not so easily manipulated by the plotters.
His daughters are part of the new Japan and it's interesting to see them try to find their way out of the mould that wives and daughters are supposed to be kept in.
This is a charming story from a time and place that I know absolutely nothing about. The characters quite come to life--Sei, his long-suffering wife, his three daughters, their husbands, a modern young female medical student, a young idealist, a political plotter, a super attractive actor and various other small roles. ( )