I'd like to nominate Fumiko Enchi's
The Waiting Years. It won the Noma Literary Prize (Japan) in 1957. From the description:
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The novel is set in the Meiji period and analyzes the plight of women who have no alternative but to accept the demeaning role assigned to them in the patriarchal social order. The protagonist is the wife of a government official, who is humiliated when her husband not only takes concubines, but has them live under the same roof as both maids and as secondary wives.
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The novel is slim, and is a fascinating look at post-war Japan from a woman who lived through it. You won't find sunshine and rainbows here, but a gritty (and satisfying) tale.