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Lafcadio Hearn

File:Lafcadio_Hearn.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Lafcadio Hearn

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Also known as Koizumi Yakumo, Yakumo Koizumi, Patrick Lafcadio Hearn

Greek-Irish writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the West (1850–1904)

OverviewAI-generated

Lafcadio Hearn was an author who wrote under the pseudonym Koizumi Yakumo. Born on June 27, 1850, he died on September 26, 1904. His literary output includes works such as *Interpretations of literature*, *The last of the Voudoos*, *Sanseido's new selections from Lafcadio Hearn*, *The boy who drew cats*, and *Lectures on Shakespeare*.

Hearn is associated with Japan and has been tagged with terms including "author" and "proto-weeaboo." He is the subject of a Commons gallery and category, as well as a creator page. A quote attributed to him reads, "How sweet Japanese woman is! All the possibilities of the race for goodness seem to be concentrated in her."

Synthesized by Vinony from 22 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Last.fm, Crossref, Wikiquote, MusicBrainz, Open Library, Europeana Sparql, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
1850-06-27
Died
1904-09-26
Works
1025

Top works

  • Interpretations of literature
  • The last of the Voudoos
  • Sanseido's new selections from Lafcadio Hearn
  • The boy who drew cats
  • Lectures on Shakespeare

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
202
Total plays
1,401

Tags

japanauthorproto-weeaboo

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (June 27, 1850 - September 26, 1904), also known as Koizumi Yakumo (小泉八雲) after gaining Japanese citizenship, was an author best known for his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as "Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things". <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Lafcadio+Hearn">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Lafcadio Hearn

Quotes

  • How sweet Japanese woman is! All the possibilities of the race for goodness seem to be concentrated in her.
  • Whatever doubts or vexations one has in Japan, it is only necessary to ask one's self: "Well, who are the best people to live with?"
  • Japanese affection is not uttered in words; it scarcely appears even in the tone of voice; it is chiefly shown in acts of exquisite courtesy and kindness.
  • My friends are much more dangerous than my enemies. These latter – with infinite subtlety – spin webs to keep me out of places where I hate to go, – and tell stories of me to people whom it would be vanity and vexation to meet; – and they help me so much by their unconscious aid that I almost love them.
  • Times are not good here. The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under a lava flood of taxes and frauds and maladministrations so that it has become only a study for archaeologists. Its condition is so bad that when I write about it, as I intend to do soon, nobody will believe I am telling the truth. But it is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes than to own the whole state of Ohio.
  • They are hideous Golgothas, these old intermural cemeteries of ours. In other cities cemeteries are beautiful with all that the art of the gardener and sculptor can give....There the horror is masked. Here it glares at us with empty sockets. The tombs are fissured, or have caved in, or have crumbled down into shapeless bricks and mortar...[and] crawfish undermine the walls to feast upon what is hidden within.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , ( 1850-06-27 ) 27 June 1850, Lefkada , Ionian Islands
Died
26 September 1904 (1904-09-26) (aged 54), Tokyo, Japan
Resting place
Zōshigaya Cemetery
Pen name
Yakumo Koizumi, ( 小泉 八雲 , Koizumi Yakumo )
Language
English , Greek , Japanese , French
Citizenship
Japan (from 1896)
Spouse
Alethea Foley, ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1874 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1877 ) ​ Setsuko Koizumi , ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1890 ) ​
Kanji
小泉 八雲
Hiragana
こいずみ やくも
Katakana
コイズミ ヤクモ
Romanization
Koizumi Yakumo

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
Japan
Place of birth
Lefkada
Place of death
Tokyo
Languages spoken
French
Religion
Buddhism
Field of work
teaching
Image
Portrait of Lafcadio Hearn.jpg
Show 19 more facts
topic's main category
Category:Koizumi Yakumo
Commons gallery
Lafcadio Hearn
Commons category
Koizumi Yakumo
date of birth
1850-01-01
date of death
1904-09-26
Commons Creator page
Lafcadio Hearn
medical condition
one-eyed
pseudonym
Koizumi Yakumo
place of burial
Zōshigaya Cemetery
birth name
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn
cause of death
angina pectoris
manner of death
natural causes
writing language
French
start of work period
1894-00-00
name in kana
こいずみ やくも
has works in the collection
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
influenced by
Elizabeth Bisland
dedicated heritage entity
Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum
Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

2 objects attributed to Lafcadio Hearn, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~35 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Yakumo Koizumi (Japanese: 小泉 八雲, Hepburn: Koizumi Yakumo; born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn; 27 June 1850 – 26 September 1904) was a Greek and Irish writer, translator, and teacher whose work played a significant role in the introduction of the culture and literature of Japan to the mainstream Western world.

His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Before moving to Japan and becoming a Japanese citizen, he worked as a journalist in the United States, primarily in Cincinnati and New Orleans. His writings about New Orleans, based on his decade-long stay there, are also well-known.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lafcadio Hearn” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (11)