Gan (1911–13; tr. The Wild Geese, 1951) is a novel by Mori Ogai set in Tokyo in 1881 that underscores the tensions between old and new ways following the Meiji Restoration. The story portrays a girl who, out of financial necessity, becomes a mistress to an old bill collector. She falls in love with a medical student upon whom she places her hopes of rescue. The novel realistically portrays the hardships that fill the lives of women, students, and the working classes during Japan’s period of rapid modernization.
Historical dictionary of modern Japanese literature and theater. J. Scott Miller. 2009.