The Wife of Seishû Hanaoka is set in feudal Japan. Its two central characters are based on the wife and mother of Japanese physician Seishû Hanaoka (1760-1835). Hanaoka developed a herbal general anesthetic, "Tsusensan", some forty years before the better-known innovations of his American counterparts Long, Wells and Morton.br br Directorbr Yasuzô Masumurabr br Starsbr Raizô Ichikawa, Ayako Wakao, Hideko Takaminebr br Subs: English.