Unsung heroes of old Japan

Description:

"True stories of three little-known Japanese of the Edo period who lived lives of sublime selflessness and purity, blurring the boundary between self and others. Merchant Kokudaya Jūzaburō comes up with a brilliant scheme to rescue his dying town from poverty. He and others go deep into debt, risking all to raise money for the cash-strapped daimyo and receive annual interest in return. Prodigious scholar and former Zen monk Nakane Tōri refuses a government post and elects to live in abject poverty, weaving sandals. Though perhaps the age's greatest poet, he throws his works into the fire and ends his days teaching in a country village. Ōtagaki Rengetsu, a noted beauty in Kyoto, loses two husbands and five children. She becomes a Buddhist nun and devotes her life to poetry and pottery. With her savings she feeds the hungry and builds a bridge across Kamo River"--Publisher's website.

subjects: Biography,  History,  Kokudaya, Jūzaburō, 1720-1777,  Nakane, Tōri, 1694-1765,  Rengetsu, 1791-1875,  Kokudaya, Jūzaburō, (1720-1777),  Nakane, Tōri, (1694-1765),  Rengetsu, (1791-1875),  Japan -- History -- Tokugawa period, 1600-1868 -- Biography,  Japan -- History -- 18th century -- Biography,  Japan -- History -- 19th century -- Biography

People: Jūzaburō Kokudaya (1720-1777),  Rengetsu (1791-1875),  Tōri Nakane (1694-1765)

Places: Japan

Times: Tokugawa period, 1600-1868,  19th century,  18th century