Book I, Chapters 1-9 Summary

The Makioka sisters are four daughters of a wealthy merchant family from Oasaka, Japan. While once very prosperous, the fortunes of the family have declined somewhat in the 1930s, when the novel takes place.

Tsuruko is the oldest sister and by tradition the head of the main house of the family located in Osaka. She is married to a man named Tatsuo, who has taken the Makioka name and runs the family business after the death of the sisters' father. Sachiko is the second oldest sister and lives just outside Osaka. The third and fourth sisters, Yukiko and Taeko, also live with Sachiko, along with her husband, Teinosuke and their young daughter Etsuko.

As the novel opens, Sachiko and Taeko are getting dressed and discussing a marriage prospect for Yukiko, who has reached the age of thirty...