Ichiyo's Diary - Ichiyo's Diary

Japanese: 一葉日記 - いちようにっき

Diary literature. This is a record of Higuchi Ichiyo's life that she wrote for about 10 years from 1887 (Meiji 20) when she was 16 until the end of her life. Although there are some gaps, the total number of volumes, including notes and miscellaneous notes, is over 70. Apart from "Wakaba Kage" and "Shinobu-gusa," which are related to her love affair with Nakarai Tosui, the three titles chosen are almost based on the place where she lived: "Yosho" for her time in Kikusaka-cho, "In the Dust" for her time in Ryusenji-cho, and "Above the Water" for her time in Maruyama-Fukuyama-cho. Not only do they give us a glimpse behind the scenes of Ichiyo's creative work, such as her training as a writer in Kikusaka-cho and her love for Tosui, the struggles of life in Ryusenji-cho, her philosophical state of mind in her later years, and her friendships with literary figures, but they also make a deep impression as a human document of a female student in the Meiji period.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

日記文学。樋口一葉が，1887年(明治20)，16歳のときから終焉の年までの約10年間にわたって書きついだ生活記録で，途中脱落はあるが，メモや雑記を含めると七十数冊に及んでいる。半井（なからい）桃水との恋にちなむ〈若葉かげ〉〈しのぶぐさ〉をのぞけば，菊坂町時代が〈蓬生〉，竜泉寺町時代が〈塵の中〉，丸山福山町時代が〈水の上〉というように，ほぼ居住地べつに三つのタイトルがえらばれている。菊坂町での作家修業と桃水への愛，竜泉寺町時代の生活の苦闘，晩年の達観した心境と文壇人との交友など，一葉の創作の舞台裏をかいま見せてくれるばかりでなく，明治の女書生のヒューマン･ドキュメントとしても深い感銘を誘う。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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