Daughters of Nijo: A Romance of Japan

What begins as a simple rural love story becomes something far more dangerous when Ohano, a humble farmer's young wife, is kidnapped by a prince during a royal parade. Stolen from her peaceful life with Kwacho the farmer, who once saved a local lord's life, Ohano is thrust into the treacherous world of the Japanese court, becoming a pawn in the political ambitions of the Prince of Nijo. Meanwhile, sheltered Princess Sado-ko crouches alone in the darkness of her room as her beloved grandmother, the Empress Dowager, dies. The Emperor promises to protect her, but what protection can innocence find in a den of vipers? Two women from opposite ends of Japanese society find their fates intertwining: one raised in ignorance of court corruption, the other stolen from simplicity to become complicit in it. Written in 1904 by Onoto Watanna, the pseudonymous American author who would later be revealed as Woodrow Wilson's first wife, this novel pulses with forbidden passion, political intrigue, and the ruthless pursuit of power within Japan's dying aristocracy.