Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Kodansha America (1992), Edition: 1st pb, Paperback, 192 pages
Description
A novel based on the life of the first doctor in the world to perform surgery for breast cancer under a general anaesthetic.
User reviews
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Set in the late 18th century in rural Japan, this novel is a fictionalized version of the life of an actual physician who developed the first general anesthetic long before Western medicine got around to that. The story is told from his wife's POV. From girlhood, Kae had admired the serenely
Show More
beautiful Otsugi, wife of an esteemed country doctor, and mother of a promising young man studying medicine in Kyoto. When Otsugi approaches Kae's family requesting that they agree to marriage between Kae and her son, there is some reluctance, but eventually the match is arranged, and Kae goes to live in the Hanaoka household to await her new husband's return from his studies. Otsugi treats Kae as a beloved daughter, until Seishu comes home. Then, the mother-in-law begins throwing obstacles in the path of the young couple's relationship, setting up a competitive atmosphere that will last for decades. The elder Dr. Hanaoka soon dies, and Seishu takes over the role of respected local medical man. He also embarks on extensive research into the use of plant extracts to create pain-killing medicines and anesthetics, experimenting on animals, and eventually even on his mother and his wife, who vie with great determination to be his first human subject. Fascinating glimpse into Japanese family life of the time, as well as the state of medical practice before the human body was completely understood. (It was believed that a woman's breasts were vital organs, and that any attempt at surgery on them would prove fatal. When a local woman was gored by a bull and certain to bleed to death, Seishu proved this belief a fallacy by surgically repairing the damage, and saving the woman's life.) The ending of the novel dissolves into a factual presentation of the final events of the lives of Seishu, his mother and his wife, abandoning any attempt at story-telling. But this is a matter of a few pages, and while abrupt, it did not hurt my enjoyment overall. Show Less
LibraryThing member John
Ariyoshi, Sawako: The Doctor's Wife
This is not so much an historical novel as a novel that takes an historical framework within which it develops a novel of familial relationships, especially the enmity of mother and daughter-in-law competing for the attention of a son/husband.
Seishu Hanoaka
The novel begins with Umpei, later known as Dr.Seishu, away studying medicine in Kyoto. His mother Otsugi, a renowned beauty even after eight children, proposes to a wealthy landowner that his daughter, Kae, would be a perfect match for Umpei. This is quite a surprise given the disparity in class and wealth, but Kae's father is finally persuaded and gives permission. Kae is delighted, not because of Umpei whom she has never met, but because she has, for years, admired and been quite enamoured with Otsugi whom she sees as the eptiome of class and comportment and beauty. A wedding is held without Umpei and Kae moves into the house of the Hanoakas who live much more frugally than Kae's family. Every yen that can be scraped together is sent to Umpei in Kyoto for living and educational expenses. Kae fits nicely into the family routines and even begins to help sisters weaving cloth that is sold to itinerant merchants. Kae and Otsugi have a wonderful relationship; Otsugi says she loves Kae as if she were her own daughter. Harmony reigns. But then Umpei comes home (three years after the 'marriage') to begin his medical practice, the world turns upside down. Otsugi is instantly "cold and distant' towards Kae: "So it came to pass that the beautiful intimacy between the two--the bride and the mother-in-law who had sought her--terminated upon the arrival of the loved one they had to share." And so begins a vicious competition for Seishu's attention and love, culminating in both women competing to be the first human subjects for his experiments with anaesthetic.
The historical context is interesting. The period is the late 1700s and Seishu represents a direction that aimed to take the best of Chinese medicine, based on diagnosis and application of herbal remedies, and Western, principally Dutch medicine, aimed at understanding the complete functioning of the organism. As Seishu says, "...one of my goals is to discover the laws of nature by making objective studies." Seishu's focus in life is medicine and medical research. He matures as a character but he starts as entirely self-absorbed in his calling for which he accepts the continual sacrifices of his family to support and enable him, with neither acknowledgement nor thanks. But underneath Seishu's single-mindedness and lofty goals there are individuals and relationships that, for a long time, escape his notice, or he pretends not to see so that he does not have to engage. These sacrifices do not just inconvenience, they shape whole lives. One of Seishu's sisters dies of breast cancer: "She was thirty and unmarried. In those years when she might have found a husband, she labored at the loom and contributed every cent to her brother's education, money which otherwise would have been set aside for her wedding day."
The rivalry between Otsugi and Kae is the main thrust of the novel and it is developed well. I might question the narrative arc only in the sense that there really is no forewarning of this dramatic change in Otsugi other than, perhaps, the fact that the relationship seems almost too perfect. The theme of hardship and tensions between a mother and a daughter-in-law, who almost always live together in the family home, recurs often in Japanese novels. There may, however, be some foreshadowing in that Otsugi comes with her own baggage. She also married beneath her station; she was very ill as young woman and a brash young doctor offered to cure her in exchange for her hand in marriage. And beneath her confident and even regal exterior, Ostugi harbours a large insecurity: she feels that her husband, "hasn't amounted to much" because, "I wasn't a good wife for him." So, "I feel that as his mother I should find the proper wife for him, someone who will encourage him to develop and blossom into a fine doctor. I owe this much to the Hanaokas since I didn't live up to their expectations." Otsugi hopes to atone for her 'failure' by making Umpei a successful and famous doctor. This, in her view, requires a supportive wife who, like Umpei's sisters, will dedicate her life to supporting Umpei plus give him an heir to continue the family line. This ambition tips over into something more than just motherly love. When Umpei returns, Kae immediately becomes a threat as the woman who will compete for Umpei's attention and love. Otsugi initiates the breach the very evening Umpei returns home; she works it continually through all the changes of family life and death, forcing Kae to adapt and fight to protect her relationship with her husband.
Another sister, Koriku, dies relatively young of a blood-related disease. She has also sacrificed her life to manage the family home and business that grows as Seishu's fame spreads and many students come to study under him. She is perceptive and sees the family as an example of two major fault-lines in Japanese society: men and tension among females. The unquestioned primacy of, and indulgences given to, a male child, and especially the eldest, produce men who think emotional connections or concerns are a weakness and who accept the sacrifices of others as their due. So Koriku does not regret not having a partner: "I wouldn't want to be reborn as a woman into such a world. The only luck I've had in my entire lifetime is that I didn't get married and didn't have to be somebody's daughter-in-law or mother-in-law."
The family relationships are complex and expectations are hard to overcome. The boys do go off and make separate careers. Girls are expected to get married and become daughters-in-law in their husband's home, of which very few have a good experience, or they stay home to care for increasingly aged parents, siblings, or a household. The sacrifice of their own hopes or ambitions is not a consideration. And there is a strange relationship with Seishu. He is a renowned doctor, but he adheres to the idea that doctor's cannot, or should not, operate on kin. He could not have operated on the younger sister who died of breast cancer because he did have the skill at that time, but he later says that he would still not do so in the present. And he does not operate on Koriku though he might have done so to try to save her. The irony is not lost on Koriku who is justifiably bitter. In conversation with Kae, she says: "Suppose you had gotten my disease. Seishu might have taken a knife and operated. But he wouldn't do it to his sister. Maybe that's why sisters are expected to get married. They're of no use to their brothers." A sad commentary.
An underlying theme that emerges from the novel is the reminder that life is short, that we all die, and how foolish it is to waste time and energy and happiness in worldly and material ambitions, plots, schemes, and regrets.
There is a final poignancy at the end of the book. When Kae dies, her tombstone appears "one size larger than the one behind her which belonged to Otsugi", but the last line of the book sums it all up: "If you stand directly in front of Seishu's tomb, the two behind him, those of Kae and Ostugi, are completely obscured."
This is not so much an historical novel as a novel that takes an historical framework within which it develops a novel of familial relationships, especially the enmity of mother and daughter-in-law competing for the attention of a son/husband.
Seishu Hanoaka
Show More
(1760-1835) was a Japanese doctor and surgeon. He is credited with being the first to perform surgery, including breast surgery for cancer, with general anaesthetic, well before anaethesia was discovered by European and American doctors. The isolationism of the Tokugawa shogunate prevented the wider spread of the knowledge. The novel begins with Umpei, later known as Dr.Seishu, away studying medicine in Kyoto. His mother Otsugi, a renowned beauty even after eight children, proposes to a wealthy landowner that his daughter, Kae, would be a perfect match for Umpei. This is quite a surprise given the disparity in class and wealth, but Kae's father is finally persuaded and gives permission. Kae is delighted, not because of Umpei whom she has never met, but because she has, for years, admired and been quite enamoured with Otsugi whom she sees as the eptiome of class and comportment and beauty. A wedding is held without Umpei and Kae moves into the house of the Hanoakas who live much more frugally than Kae's family. Every yen that can be scraped together is sent to Umpei in Kyoto for living and educational expenses. Kae fits nicely into the family routines and even begins to help sisters weaving cloth that is sold to itinerant merchants. Kae and Otsugi have a wonderful relationship; Otsugi says she loves Kae as if she were her own daughter. Harmony reigns. But then Umpei comes home (three years after the 'marriage') to begin his medical practice, the world turns upside down. Otsugi is instantly "cold and distant' towards Kae: "So it came to pass that the beautiful intimacy between the two--the bride and the mother-in-law who had sought her--terminated upon the arrival of the loved one they had to share." And so begins a vicious competition for Seishu's attention and love, culminating in both women competing to be the first human subjects for his experiments with anaesthetic.
The historical context is interesting. The period is the late 1700s and Seishu represents a direction that aimed to take the best of Chinese medicine, based on diagnosis and application of herbal remedies, and Western, principally Dutch medicine, aimed at understanding the complete functioning of the organism. As Seishu says, "...one of my goals is to discover the laws of nature by making objective studies." Seishu's focus in life is medicine and medical research. He matures as a character but he starts as entirely self-absorbed in his calling for which he accepts the continual sacrifices of his family to support and enable him, with neither acknowledgement nor thanks. But underneath Seishu's single-mindedness and lofty goals there are individuals and relationships that, for a long time, escape his notice, or he pretends not to see so that he does not have to engage. These sacrifices do not just inconvenience, they shape whole lives. One of Seishu's sisters dies of breast cancer: "She was thirty and unmarried. In those years when she might have found a husband, she labored at the loom and contributed every cent to her brother's education, money which otherwise would have been set aside for her wedding day."
The rivalry between Otsugi and Kae is the main thrust of the novel and it is developed well. I might question the narrative arc only in the sense that there really is no forewarning of this dramatic change in Otsugi other than, perhaps, the fact that the relationship seems almost too perfect. The theme of hardship and tensions between a mother and a daughter-in-law, who almost always live together in the family home, recurs often in Japanese novels. There may, however, be some foreshadowing in that Otsugi comes with her own baggage. She also married beneath her station; she was very ill as young woman and a brash young doctor offered to cure her in exchange for her hand in marriage. And beneath her confident and even regal exterior, Ostugi harbours a large insecurity: she feels that her husband, "hasn't amounted to much" because, "I wasn't a good wife for him." So, "I feel that as his mother I should find the proper wife for him, someone who will encourage him to develop and blossom into a fine doctor. I owe this much to the Hanaokas since I didn't live up to their expectations." Otsugi hopes to atone for her 'failure' by making Umpei a successful and famous doctor. This, in her view, requires a supportive wife who, like Umpei's sisters, will dedicate her life to supporting Umpei plus give him an heir to continue the family line. This ambition tips over into something more than just motherly love. When Umpei returns, Kae immediately becomes a threat as the woman who will compete for Umpei's attention and love. Otsugi initiates the breach the very evening Umpei returns home; she works it continually through all the changes of family life and death, forcing Kae to adapt and fight to protect her relationship with her husband.
Another sister, Koriku, dies relatively young of a blood-related disease. She has also sacrificed her life to manage the family home and business that grows as Seishu's fame spreads and many students come to study under him. She is perceptive and sees the family as an example of two major fault-lines in Japanese society: men and tension among females. The unquestioned primacy of, and indulgences given to, a male child, and especially the eldest, produce men who think emotional connections or concerns are a weakness and who accept the sacrifices of others as their due. So Koriku does not regret not having a partner: "I wouldn't want to be reborn as a woman into such a world. The only luck I've had in my entire lifetime is that I didn't get married and didn't have to be somebody's daughter-in-law or mother-in-law."
The family relationships are complex and expectations are hard to overcome. The boys do go off and make separate careers. Girls are expected to get married and become daughters-in-law in their husband's home, of which very few have a good experience, or they stay home to care for increasingly aged parents, siblings, or a household. The sacrifice of their own hopes or ambitions is not a consideration. And there is a strange relationship with Seishu. He is a renowned doctor, but he adheres to the idea that doctor's cannot, or should not, operate on kin. He could not have operated on the younger sister who died of breast cancer because he did have the skill at that time, but he later says that he would still not do so in the present. And he does not operate on Koriku though he might have done so to try to save her. The irony is not lost on Koriku who is justifiably bitter. In conversation with Kae, she says: "Suppose you had gotten my disease. Seishu might have taken a knife and operated. But he wouldn't do it to his sister. Maybe that's why sisters are expected to get married. They're of no use to their brothers." A sad commentary.
An underlying theme that emerges from the novel is the reminder that life is short, that we all die, and how foolish it is to waste time and energy and happiness in worldly and material ambitions, plots, schemes, and regrets.
There is a final poignancy at the end of the book. When Kae dies, her tombstone appears "one size larger than the one behind her which belonged to Otsugi", but the last line of the book sums it all up: "If you stand directly in front of Seishu's tomb, the two behind him, those of Kae and Ostugi, are completely obscured."
Show Less
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
What an interesting, moving story! This is an historical novel based on the life work of Naomichi Seishu, a Japanese doctor of the Edo period whose claim to fame was being the first surgeon to operate on another person using anesthesia. Historically there had been a Chinese man who was also reputed
The story speaks of the doctor's medical ambitions, but is told from the point of view of his wife Kae who was chosen to be the doctor's wife by her future mother-in-law Otsugi. At first, Kae admired her mother-in-law, but over the years resentment grew between these two women in a way in which they became competitive to see which of the two could most help Dr. Seishu's career.
This is the second novel I've read by Sawako Ariyoshi. I love her quiet, detailed manner of story-telling and how her works turn out to be a window into Japanese culture. The story of Dr. Seishu's medical practice invites more investigation of the true history of this man while the story of Dr. Seishu's family is the creative imagination of the author. Both were excellent and beautifully done.
Show More
to have done so in the 5th century, but no record was left of his accomplishments so this fame in the end fell to Dr. Seishu.The story speaks of the doctor's medical ambitions, but is told from the point of view of his wife Kae who was chosen to be the doctor's wife by her future mother-in-law Otsugi. At first, Kae admired her mother-in-law, but over the years resentment grew between these two women in a way in which they became competitive to see which of the two could most help Dr. Seishu's career.
This is the second novel I've read by Sawako Ariyoshi. I love her quiet, detailed manner of story-telling and how her works turn out to be a window into Japanese culture. The story of Dr. Seishu's medical practice invites more investigation of the true history of this man while the story of Dr. Seishu's family is the creative imagination of the author. Both were excellent and beautifully done.
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
Japanese
Original publication date
1966
Physical description
192 p.; 7.1 inches
ISBN
0870114654 / 9780870114656