Modern Girls, Shining Stars, the Skies of Tokyo: Five Japanese Women

This was a suprisingly interesting book containing 5 biographies of "Modern" women in historical Japan. Phyllis Birnbaum researches the women with a professional biographers precision, with warts and all. She analyzes their progressive ideas in the context of the times they stepped away from conformity. In this sense, the biographies are very much stories of the times, and the reader is treated to a history lesson as well. Definitely a good read for any Japanophile. The struggle against society and conformity also transcends Japan, making this work interesting reading above and beyond the Japanese context.