Shinanogawa

Set against the backdrop of Japan’s Showa era, life is harsh, particularly in the region long enclosed by the Shinano River. Bitter winters, crop failures, and roving packs of hungry wolves plague the inhabitants, with young girls often the earliest casualties of such desperate times—their futures typically sealed by one of two fates: the brothel or the factory floor. Amid these grim circumstances, the beautiful young Takano Yukie struggles to carve her own path forward, and in doing so, dares to defy the moral codes of her age. Penned by novelist Okazaki Hideo and brought to life through the dramatic, beguilingly sensual artwork of Kamimura Kazuo—renowned for *Lady Snowblood*—*Shinanogawa* unfolds the wild and gripping story of one woman’s search for identity.