The Visit by Hiroshi Yosano (1873–1935) and Akiko Yosano (1878–1942) to France and England in 1912

Abstract

Hiroshi and Akiko Yosano are one of the best known and influential couples in the field of tanka, a style of Japanese poem consisting of lines of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. Akiko was born in 1878 in the wealthy context of the family confectionery business in Sakai, not far from Kyoto. She married Hiroshi (whose pen name was ‘Tekkan’) after a turbulent romance which received much publicity and became famous throughout Japan. When the two met and fell in love, Hiroshi was still married to his first wife, and furthermore Akiko had to compete for his affections with another woman poet, Tomoko Yamakawa. She belonged to the same tanka faction, called Shinshisha; Tekkan was, in fact, its leader. They published the poetry magazine Myojo (‘Dawn Star’). It is said that Akiko’s success in translating the Tale of Genji from old Japanese into the modern language version contributed to financing the couple’s trip to France.