1871 – 1908

Born in Chōshi, Chiba Prefecture. Raised in Yamaguchi and Hiroshima Prefectures. His real name was Tetsuo, and his childhood name was Kamekichi. He attended Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō（now Waseda University）but dropped out. While in school, he was baptized by Uemura Masahisa. In 1894, he joined Kokumin Shimbun newspaper and served as a war correspondent during the First Sino-Japanese War. That same year, he published Aitei Tsushin,（”Communiques to a Dear Brother”）, a collection of letters written in an epistolary style. In 1897, his poetry was included under the title Doppogin in Jojoshi（”Lyric Poems”）, a collaborative work with Tayama Katai and Yanagita Kunio. In 1901, he published his first short story collection, Musashino. He later released works such as Gyuniku to bareisho（Meat and Potatoes）and Haru no Tori（”Spring Birds”）, becoming a pioneer of naturalist literature in Japan. His notable works include Wasure-enu hitobito（”Unforgettable People”）,Shuchu nikki（”A Diary under the influence of Sake ”）, Unmei（”Destiny”）,Haru no Tori （”Spring Birds”）, and Take no Kido （ “The Bamboo Gate”）.