The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

by David Mitchell

The novel begins in the summer of 1799 at the Dutch East India Company trading post Dejima in the harbor of Nagasaki. It tells the story of a Dutch trader's love for a Japanese midwife who is spirited away into a sinister mountain temple cult.

Part 1: The Bride For Whom We Dance

In 1799, Japanese midwife Orito Aibagawa helps deliver the baby of Magistrate Shiroyama.

Jacob de Zoet, working as a clerk on a Dutch merchant ship, arrives at the island of Dejima, midway through an ad hoc trial of Daniel Snitker, the acting chief of a factory on the island. Jacob hopes to make his fortune working under Chief Vorstenbosch and the Dutch East India Company to pay for the dowry of his betrothed, Anna. After Snitker is fired for smuggling, Deputy Melchior Van Cleef considers Jacob for the position.

Jacob meets Orito, who, along with being a midwife, is also a talented student and the only female at the medical academy led by Dr. Marinus. Jacob sneaks a Psalter onto Dejima, and if discovered as a Christian, he will be deported at the least and executed at the worst due to Japan's anti-Christian laws. The interpreter, Ogawa Uzaemon, keeps Jacob's Psalter a secret, and the two form a friendship.

Jacob realizes that Vorstenbosch only outed Snitker to make an example: Vorstenbosch punishes Jacob for not signing a forged document by forcing him to remain on the island for longer than his allotted time.

On New Year's Day, Orito is taken to live at the Mount Shiranui Shrine, run by Abbot Enomoto.

Part 2: The Mountain Fastness

A monk from Enomoto's monastery escapes with a scroll detailing the atrocities at Mount Shiranui: the monks rape the women kept at the Shrine, and the cult sacrifices the babies to attain immortality. The women of the Shrine, however, believe that their children are still alive, living down in the city. The scroll eventually comes into the possession of Jacob.

Unlike the other women, Orito isn't intended to be a mother, but a midwife to help the other women through their pregnancies. Orito eventually discovers a way out and nearly escapes the compound, but her guilt for abandoning the women overpowers her, and she gives herself up to the Shrine.

Before the events of the novel, Ogawa Uzaemon intended to marry Orito, but their circumstances prevented it. He still loves her, however, and, being a trained samurai, he mounts a rescue mission. When they arrive at the Shrine, however, Uzaemon is betrayed by his team to Enomoto, who kills him.

Part 3: The Master Of Go

Captain Penhaligon leads a crew of Englishmen in their attempt to take the trade route with Nagasaki for themselves (in response to the fall of the VOC on New Year's Day). They do this with the help of Daniel Snitker, assisting out of hatred for Vorstenbosch (who has left for the Netherlands) and Jacob. As the Dutchmen on Dejima refuse to submit to the English, the conflict escalates to actual war: the English ship fires, accidentally hitting Nagasaki as well. With Japanese firepower against them, the English retreat.

Having earned Shiroyama's respect in the conflict, Jacob gives the magistrate the scroll listing the atrocities of the Shrine of Mount Shiranui. Shiroyama heroically sacrifices himself to kill Enomoto, poisoning their drinks at their game of Go.

Part 4: The Rainy Season

Years, later, Jacob marries and has a son with a Japanese woman other than Orito. Orito lives happily, leading the academy the late Marinus founded.

Part 5: The Last Pages

Jacob returns to the Netherlands without his son, remarries, and has another son. On his deathbed, he thinks of Orito.