In Higuchi Ichiyo’s Separate Ways Higuchi tells the story of two people who for one reason or another are drawn to each other. Kichizo, an orphan boy, and Okyo, a seamstress who had just moved to the village not long ago. Higuchi explores the emotions of both as Okyo decides to move away and becomes someone’s mistress.
Although we are left to mostly sympathize with Kichizo, Okyo provides an example of a strong woman able to care for herself and make the decision necessary to improve her life. Much like many other female characters that Higuchi would write even if they choose to obey society at their own sacrifice.
[ongoing unfinished project] I will try to adapt a form of literature believed to be native to Japan, the visual novel, to convey the strength of the women. The visual novel will be titled Ichiyo’s Girls. Creating a website that lays out a simple story with Kichizo as the main protagonist as he runs into multiple characters from Higuchi Ichiyo’s work. Hopefully in the future I will be able to revisit this idea and develop an actual visual novel. I will be using other stories from Higuchi, along with an analysis from Tanaka Yukiko to draw up story and character descriptions.
Works Cited
Danly, Robert Lyons, and Ichiyō Higuchi. In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life and Writings of Higuchi Ichiyō, a Woman of Letters in Meiji Japan. New Haven: Yale UP, 1981. Print.
Tanaka, Yukiko. Women Writers of Meiji and Taishō Japan: Their Lives, Works, and Critical Reception, 1868-1926. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2000. Print.
Higuchi Ichiyo. “Separate Ways.” Trans. Robert Lyons Danly. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume E. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2012. 839-844. Print
Although we are left to mostly sympathize with Kichizo, Okyo provides an example of a strong woman able to care for herself and make the decision necessary to improve her life. Much like many other female characters that Higuchi would write even if they choose to obey society at their own sacrifice.
[ongoing unfinished project] I will try to adapt a form of literature believed to be native to Japan, the visual novel, to convey the strength of the women. The visual novel will be titled Ichiyo’s Girls. Creating a website that lays out a simple story with Kichizo as the main protagonist as he runs into multiple characters from Higuchi Ichiyo’s work. Hopefully in the future I will be able to revisit this idea and develop an actual visual novel. I will be using other stories from Higuchi, along with an analysis from Tanaka Yukiko to draw up story and character descriptions.
Works Cited
Danly, Robert Lyons, and Ichiyō Higuchi. In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life and Writings of Higuchi Ichiyō, a Woman of Letters in Meiji Japan. New Haven: Yale UP, 1981. Print.
Tanaka, Yukiko. Women Writers of Meiji and Taishō Japan: Their Lives, Works, and Critical Reception, 1868-1926. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2000. Print.
Higuchi Ichiyo. “Separate Ways.” Trans. Robert Lyons Danly. The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume E. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2012. 839-844. Print