Book to Recommend

Konnichi wa SHQ-tomodachi sans,

Just finished a historical novel that I'd like to recommend to this site. The title is "The
Shogun's Gold" by Masayoshi Sato and is published by Kodansha. It is out of print but you can
pick up a used copy on Amazon for a really cheap price. The novel is set during the
Bakumatsu period and is about that period's exchange rate wars between the Bakufu and the
West. (I had read previously that according to many Japanese economist, it was the currency
war of this period that really underscored the end of the Togugawa government) What is
interesting is that the author chooses to tell the narrative through the eyes of Rutherford
Alcock, Britian's first counsel general to Japan. It is a most fascinating read. The novel is set
between the periods of March 1859 - December 1862. Two months later in February of
1863, Kiyokawa Hachiro left Edo for Kyoto with his 250 strong Roshi corp. And as we know,
while in Kyoto, 13 members of the Roshi broke rank with Kiyokawa and formed the
Shinsengumi. This historical novel provides a wonderful economic context to the political
intensity and emotions that swirled in these times.

-Rodney