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Higuchi Ichiyo, Meiji-era novelist
One of the first major professional women writers of modern Japan, known for stories such as たけくらべ depicting life on the margins of Tokyo society. She died of tuberculosis at 24 but is a fixture of the school literary canon and was the face of the ¥5,000 note from 2004 to 2024.
Usually called 一葉 in casual reference, the pen name alone.
Common expressions
- 一葉の作品: a work by Ichiyo
- たけくらべ: her best-known novella, set among children in Tokyo's old red-light district
Cultural note
She was one of the first women to earn a living as a professional novelist in modern Japan, publishing in the years just before her death from tuberculosis at 24. Her portrait appeared on the ¥5,000 note from 2004 to 2024, when she was replaced by 津田梅子 in the redesign.