 cover illustration for Shinchosha reprint | |
| Author | Arishima Takeo |
|---|---|
| Original title | Aru Onna |
| Translator | Kenneth Strong |
| Language | Japanese |
| Published | 1919 (University of Tokyo Press) (Japanese) 1978 (English) |
| Publication place | Japan |
| ISBN | 0860082377 |
A Certain Woman (或る女, Aru Onna) is the English translation of the name a Japanese novel by Arishima Takeo published in 1919. The first half of the novel first appeared in serialized form in the literary magazine Shirakaba , starting from January 1911 and running for 16 episodes to March 1913. The second half of the novel was not published until 1919, when both volumes were issued as a set.
The novel is partly biographical, with Arishima modeling the protagonist, Yōko, after Kunikida Doppo's ex-wife, Nobuko Sasaki. The main theme of the novel is the changing place of women in Japanese society at the end of the Meiji period and Taishō period.