Ichiyō Higuchi
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Ichiyō Higuchi (樋口 一葉 Higuchi Ichiyō?, May 2, 1872 – November 23, 1896) is the pen name of Japanese author Natsu Higuchi (樋口 奈津 Higuchi Natsu?), also known as Natsuko Higuchi (樋口 夏子 Higuchi Natsuko?).
Higuchi was born in Meiji era Tokyo of samurai lineage. In the space of her short life, she moved a total of 12 times. Upon reaching the age of 14, she entered the Haginoya, a poetry school; at the age of 15, she suffered the loss of her brother, and her father's business failed. Shortly afterward, he died and at the young age of 17 she became the head of the Higuchi household. Along with her mother and younger sister, they made ends meet by doing needlework, washing, and other jobs. After seeing the success of a classmate who wrote a novel, Higuchi decided to become a writer to support her family.
At the age of 20, Higuchi wrote her first novel and also adopted the pen name of Ichiyō. Around this time, Higuchi turned down a marriage proposal and moved to a house near the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. In 1894 her first major work, Ōtsugomori (大つごもり) was published, and in the following year, Takekurabe (たけくらべ, translated into English as "Growing Up" and as "Child's Play"), Nigorie (にごりえ, translated into English as "Troubled Waters"), and Jūsanya (十三夜), translated into English as "The Thirteenth Night" were published to critical and popular success. Higuchi's literary career was cut short in 1896, when she contracted, and soon died of, tuberculosis.
In spite of her very short career and limited output, Higuchi is remembered for the quality of her works and is considered to be the first professional female writer in modern Japanese literature. Higuchi's likeness adorns the Japanese 5000 yen note as of the Fall of 2004, becoming the third female to appear on a Japanese banknote, after Empress Jingū in 1881, and Murasaki Shikibu in 2000. Next to Jingū, she is the second woman to be featured prominently on a Japanese banknote.
Higuchi's major works include:
- Takekurabe
- Nigorie
