Yei Theodora Ozaki

Born in 1870, Yei Theodora Ozaki was the daughter of a Japanese father, Baron Saburō Ozaki, and an English mother, Bathia Catherine Morrison. She spent parts of her childhood in both Japan and Europe, an experience that helped shape her gift for moving between cultures and languages.

She is remembered above all for her English retellings of Japanese folk tales. Her best-known collection, Japanese Fairy Book (1903), introduced many readers outside Japan to traditional stories and legends in a clear, engaging style. Alongside her work as a writer and translator, she also taught and wrote for English-language audiences interested in Japan.

Ozaki's versions were often adapted rather than strictly literal translations, but that flexibility is part of why they remained popular. Her work played an important role in sharing Japanese storytelling traditions with a wide international readership, and her books continue to be reprinted and enjoyed today.