This drama is set during the Edo period (1824-5), decades before Commodore Matthew Perry helped open Japan to the Western world with the Convention of Kanagawa. This historical event has some significance in the story of Tsuma wa, Kunoichi because the male lead is involved in a plot to build a ship that can sail farther than Japanese ships had sailed before, which was a huge deal for a country determined to remain isolated from the West.
