YOSANO AKIKO: THE EARLY YEARS (MEIJI PERIOD WRITING, POETRY, FEMINISM-JAPAN, ROMANTICISM)

A literary biography of the early years of the poet and essayist Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), the dissertation concentrates on her work during the Meiji and early Taisho periods (1900-1912), ending with Akiko's return from her European travels. Her personal circumstances of childhood and early adulthood shaped her sense of self so strongly that she had the vigor to make her own way in an environment not particularly sympathetic to her efforts. She early understood the significance of literature for herself and developed an unshakable confidence in her intuitive response both to the contemporary literary scene and to her literary tradition. She recognized that her commitment to intellectual and artistic freedom was fundamental to her being.;In Midaregami (1901), her first and best known collection of tanka, Akiko asserted the value of freedom and the self. Though she is justly remembered for that work, she also deserves to be remembered for her new-style verse (shintaishi) and essays (hyo). Her new-style verse displays the same qualities as the tanka do, as well as a much larger range of subjects which are drawn from her experiences as writer, teacher, wife, and mother. Her essays show her exploring her commitments to art, freedom, marriage, and feminism. In all these forms of writing, her tone is consistent and flows from her strong sense of self.