Lafcadio Hearn

Lafcadio Hearn
Hearn in 1889 by Frederick Gutekunst
Born	Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν) (1850-06-27)27 June 1850 Lefkada, United States of the Ionian Islands (now Greece)
Died	26 September 1904(1904-09-26) (aged 54) Tokyo, Japan
Resting place	Zōshigaya Cemetery
Pen name	Yakumo Koizumi
Language	English, Greek, Japanese, French
Spouse	Alethea Foley ​ ​ (m. 1874; div. 1877)​ Koizumi Setsuko ​ ​ (m. 1890)​
Children	4
Signature
Japanese name
Kanji	小泉 八雲
Hiragana	こいずみ やくも
Katakana	コイズミ ヤクモ
Transcriptions Romanization Koizumi Yakumo

Yakumo Koizumi (小泉 八雲, 27 June 1850 – 26 September 1904), born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Greek: Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, romanized: Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn), was a writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the West.^[1] 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.

Hearn was born on the Greek island of Lefkada, after which a complex series of conflicts and events led to his being moved to Dublin, where he was abandoned first by his mother, then his father, and finally by his father's aunt (who had been appointed his official guardian). At the age of 19, he emigrated to the United States, where he found work as a newspaper reporter, first in Cincinnati and later in New Orleans. From there, he was sent as a correspondent to the French West Indies, where he stayed for two years, and then to Japan, where he would remain for the rest of his life.

In Japan, Hearn married Koizumi Setsuko, with whom he had four children. His writings about Japan offered the Western world greater insight into a still largely unfamiliar culture.