Miyake Kaho

Tatsuko Miyake, known by her pen name Kaho Miyake, was a Japanese novelist, essayist, and poet. She has long been associated with joryū bungaku, acknowledged as the first woman to have written in the modern period. Her most notable work is Yabu no uguisu, published in 1888.

Biography

Miyake was born Tatsuko Tanabe in Edo as the oldest daughter of government official Taichi Tanabe. An attendant of Tokyo Women's Normal School, she also studied with female poet Utako Nakajima at Nakajima's private school titled Haginoya. The success of Miyake's Yabu no uguisu, published before her graduate, motivated Haginoya fellow student Ichiyō Higuchi to become a professional writer herself.
In 1892, Miyake married philosopher and journalist Setsurei Miyake. She continued to write short stories and essays. In 1920, Miyake and her husband published Josei nihonjin, a magazine on women's issues.