The Scarlet Kimono - Christina Courtenay
This is the second book I have read recently about Japan ..this one is set in the seventeenth century, when it was a closed society and its only interaction with the outside world was through the trading post at Nagasaki .. An english girl arrives there on board a british ship,disguised as a stowaway boy in an attempt to flee a marriage decided upon by her parents. Unbeknown to her, a Japanese 'seer' has had a vision of her which he relates to his daimyo...his samurai master..and he is convinced that her arrival is fated to affect the life of his master in a significant way..
This is , at its heart, a love story..and I found it touching and well done .Only the fact that I have previously read other stories in a similar vein prevented it from being a five star rating..