Warriors of Old Japan and Other Stories, by Yei Theodora Ozakin (HC, 1909, $15, which is 1/3 the internet price.)
This gem just showed up. The author, Yei, was already famous when she wrote Warriors. Her Japanese Fairy Book had been widely read in Britain. She had written both books to introduce foreigners to the Japanese culture.
She had an amazing life. Her father, a baron, was one of the first Japanese allowed to go to England. While there he fell in love with his professor's daughter, and they soon married. The marriage ended five years and three children later, the wife too British, and the husband too Japanese. Yei returned to England with her mother. When she was 16 she returned to Japan, embracing Japanese culture and language, but refusing to marry the man her father had chosen for her. Instead she left home and took a job teaching. After a few years she moved back to Europe. On returning to Japan she returned to teaching, but soon left to write full time. She was smart, cheerful, and fun, and was popular in both court and diplomatic circles. Still she remained single, waiting for someone special.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Tokyo, who had the same name, but was not related, kept getting her mail, and she kept getting his. His wife had died a while back, and he was considered a fine catch, with many a woman eager to be his wife. As is many times true, truth is stranger than fiction. The two met at some event, laughed over the postal mix-ups, and fell immediately in love. They married, and would have 3 daughters, one of whom would receive the Nobel prize.
By all accounts they had a happy marriage, though I could find no further information on her. He, on the other hand, is still revered in Japan as the "Father of the Japanese Constitution". He brought many improvements, like sewers and paved roads, to Tokyo. He fought against the rising Japanese military power, and ended up imprisoned during both world wars. What an amazing man.
Oh, and he was the person to bring cherry trees to Washington DC. In 1912 Tokyo sent 3020 saplings to our capital. Yei's husband loved beauty, and now we in America still celebrate his gift every spring. (Or at least we will as long as the beavers don't find their way back!)
Normally I would feel sad that a female writer did not continue her work after her marriage, but this is a special case. Oh, I would have loved to have known them! Look for this book on the new fiction table. (L. myth and folk.)
