3 days Ago By Renae Lucas-Hall
There’s a face behind every great story. Though often overlooked, many women writers significantly shaped the history of Japan in various ways. This two-part series highlights their impact.
We will be introducing 17 influential female writers who helped shape Japanese literature and culture throughout history. In this first installment, we focus on seven women writers from the Meiji to early Showa eras. This period was marked by political upheaval, war and cultural transformation, which deeply affected these women’s lives and work.
It was a time of turmoil, as Japan experienced the restoration and abolition of imperial power, along with major wars. During this period, European literature and American influence also began to play a significant role in Japanese culture. For women, these challenges were particularly pronounced, adding additional hardships to an already difficult era.
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. owever, This literary legend was well ahead of her time. Her books are more relevant now than before her death from a heart attack in 1984.
Ariyoshi was born in Wakayama, spent some of her childhood in Dutch Indonesia, studied theater and literature at Tokyo Women’s Christian College, and in 1959, won a scholarship at Sara Lawrence College in Performing Arts in New York City. She traveled extensively and visited China five times, where she once lived in a People’s Commune. riyoshi’s t .
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