"Thought-provoking and heart-wrenching" (The Daily News Journal)"A prize-winning novel by one of Japan's most notable women authors" (Library Journal)"A subtle dissection of the attitudes of Japanese women" (Pacific Citizen) "The author is a woman of great intelligence, profound psychological insight, and extraordinary sensitivity" (Monumenta Nipponica)"Absorbing, sensitive, and utterly heartrending" (Charles Beardsley)Published for the first time in the UK, one of Japan's greatest modern female writersIn the late nineteenth century, Tomo, the faithful wife of a government official, is sent to Tokyo, where a heartbreaking task is awaiting her. From among hundreds of geishas and daughters offered up for sale by their families she must select a respectable young girl to become her husband?s new lover. Externally calm, but torn apart inside, Tomo dutifully begins the search for an official mistress. The Waiting Years was awarded Japan?s most prestigious literary award, the Noma Prize.