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Higuchi Ichiyō (樋口 一葉 Higuchi Ichiyō, May 2, 1872 - November 23, 1896) is the pen name of the Japanese author Higuchi Natsu (樋口奈津 Higuchi Natsu).
Higuchi was born in 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 (which likely would have signalled the end of her writing career) and moved to a house near the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. In 1894 her first major work, Ohtugomori (大つごもり) was published, and in the following year, Takekurabe (たけくらべ), Nigorie (にごりえ), and Jūsanya (十三夜) 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 will adorn the Japanese 5000 yen note starting in the fall of 2004, becoming the second female to appear on a Japanese banknote since 1881, next to Empress Jingo.
Higuchi's major works include:
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