Part 1, Chapter 1 - Part 2, Chapter 20 Summary

Part 1, Chapter 1 - In the village of Nagasaki, in the house of Kawasemi the Concubine, Kawasemi is in labor, and is attended by a midwife, Orito Aibagawa, and Dr. Maeno. The baby appears dead, half-born, and the doctor and midwife must help Kawasemi finish birth if she is to live herself. The doctor and the nurse have been trained in Dutch medicine, and use this to their advantage. Miraculously, the baby is not dead, and survives.

Part 1, Chapter 2 - In Nagasaki Harbor, the ship Shenandoah is anchored. It is July 20, 1799. Jacob de Zoet, a clerk, who works for Unico Vorstenbosch, chief-elect oft he trading factory of Dejima, of the Dutch East Indies Trading Company. A man named Daniel Snitker is found guilty of dereliction of duty, visiting a brothel instead of helping to stop a...