The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbour, the Japanese Empire's single port and sole window onto the world. Here Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk, has five years to earn a sufficient fortune to win the hand of his wealthy fiancee back in Holland. But Jacob's intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with the daughter of a samurai doctor.