Higuchi, Ichiyo (1872–1896)

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Higuchi, Ichiyo (1872–1896)

Japanese feminist, novelist, poet and short-story writer. Name variations: Higuchi Natsuko; Higuchi Natsu. Born Higuchi Natsu, May 2, 1872, in Tokyo, Japan, in the Meiji Period; died of TB, age 24, Nov 23, 1896, in Tokyo; buried in Yanaka Cemetery; dau. of a minor bureaucrat; forced to end her education in grammar school.

One of most important writers in Japanese literary history, adopted pen name of Ichiyō at 20 and wrote of the unhappy and restricted lives of women; published 1st major work, Ohtugomori (1894), followed by Takekurabe, Nigorie, Wakareachi, and Jusanya, all to critical and popular success. Honored with her kimono-clad likeness on the 5,000 yen bill, the 1st woman to grace the front of modern Japanese banknotes (2004).

See also Robert Lyons Danly, In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life and Writings of Higuchi Ichiyo (1981).

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