Hanaoka Seishū no tsuma (1967; The Doctor’s Wife), perhaps her best-known work, concerns the brave wife and domineering mother of Hanaoka Seishū, a 19th-century surgeon who pioneered the surgical use of anesthesia. Ariyoshi’s novels examine social issues; for example, Hishoku (1964; “Without Color”) deals with racism, Kōkutso no hito (1972;…
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