In the shade of spring leaves: The life and writings of Higuchi Ichiyō, a woman of letters in Meiji Japan

392 Pages·1981·49.309 MB·English

by  Robert Lyons Danly

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In the Shade
of Spring Leaves
The Life and Writings of
A Woman
Higuehi Ichiyo,
of Letters in Meiji Japan
ROBERT LYONS DANLY

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Digitized by the Internet Archive
2013
in
http://archive.org/details/inshadeofspringlOOrobe
In the Shade ofSpring Leaves
Portrait ofIchiyoby Kaburagi Kiyokata
THE SHADE
IN
OF SPRING LEAVES
The Life and Writings ofHiguchi Ichiyo,
A Woman ofLetters in MeijiJapan
Robert Lyons Danly
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
For Edwin and Rachel McClellan
Theornament used throughout thisbook
is avariation ofthe quince pattern
adopted as the Higuchi familycrest.
Published with assistance from the foundation
established in memoryofPhilip Hamilton McMillan
ofthe Class of1894,Yale College.
©
Copyright 1981 byYale University.
All rights reserved.
Thisbook may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that
copyingpermittedbySections 107and 108ofthe U.S. Copyright Lawandexceptby
reviewersforthe public press),without written permission from the publishers.
DesignedbyNancyOvedovitz and set in ZapfInternational type.
Printedin the United States ofAmerica byTheVail-Ballou Press, Binghamton, N.Y.
LibraryofCongress Catalogingin Publication Data
Danly, Robert Lyons, 1947-
Inthe shadeofspringleaves.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Higu—chi, Ichiyo, 1872-1896. 2. Authors,
J—apanese Biography. 3. Higuchi, Ichiyo, 1872-1896
Translations,English. I. Higuchi, Ichiyo, 1872-
1896. Selections. English. 1981. II. Title.
PL808.I4Z63 895.6'34 [B] 81-50434
ISBN 0-9300-082614-75 6543AAC2R2
10
Contents
Illustrations VI
Preface vii
PART ONE A BRIEF LIFE
1 The Family 3
2 The Prodigy 11
3 The Mentor 25
4 The Yoshiwara 75
5 The Bundan 133
PART TWO NINE STORIES
Flowers at Dusk 167
A Snowy Day 174
The Sound ofthe Koto 178
Encounters on a Dark Night 182
On the Last Day ofthe Year 205
Troubled Waters 218
The Thirteenth Night 241
Child's Play 254
Separate Ways 2^88
Notes 297
Bibliography 333
339
Index
Illustrations
Portrait ofIchiyo by Kaburagi Kiyokata (frontispiece)
Between pages 164 and 165
Model ofthe street in Ryusenji where Ichiyo lived
Model ofIchiyo's last house, in Maruyama-Fukuyama
Higuchi Ichiyo, circa 1895
The three Higuchi women
The three issues ofNakarai Tosui'sjournal Musashino
The first draft of"Child's Play"
Ichiyo's grave
One ofthe many canals in Tokyo during the Meiji period
Shinobazu Pond
April cherry blossoms
The wisteria gardens at Kameido in early May
A kimono shop in the 1890s
Brothels in the pleasure quarter
Geisha in the Yoshiwara
Courtesans ofthe Yoshiwara
Children ofthe downtown
A Buddhist priest and acolyte
A rickshawman andyoung matron
A woman in winter dress
A samurai
The pleasure quarter
Members ofthe Haginoya, 1887
Members ofthejournal Bungakkai
Miyake Kaho
Oriki and Yuki Tomonosuke in "Troubled Waters," as painted by Kaburagi
Kiyokata
Cover ofthe first edition ofIchiyo's collected stories, 1897
Nakarai Tosui
Mori Ogai
Koda Rohan
Saito Ryokuu