author
Shigemi Shiukichi
1865–1928
Best known for A Japanese Boy, he offered English-language readers a rare first-person picture of childhood in Meiji-era Japan. His writing is valued for its directness, warmth, and everyday detail.
1 Audiobook
A Japanese Boy
by Shigemi Shiukichi
About the author
Shiukichi Shigemi (1865–1928) was a Japanese physician, educator, and writer. He was born in Imabari on Shikoku, and later studied at Doshisha English Academy before going on to medical study in the United States.
While attending Yale in 1889, he wrote A Japanese Boy, an autobiographical account of his early life. The book describes festivals, school, family life, work, and religion in simple, vivid English, giving readers an unusually personal view of ordinary life in Meiji-era Japan.
His best-known book was written partly to help fund his education, but it also became an early bridge between Japanese and American readers. Even now, it stands out for the way it turns everyday childhood experience into something immediate and memorable.