Yaho Kitabatake

October 5, 1903 (age 78)

Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

She returned to Aomori and found employment as a substitute teacher in 1924, but continued to struggle with her sickness. In 1926, she published her initial works in the literary magazine Kaizō. Around this time, she also met fellow writer Fukada Kyūya, with whom she started to live as his common law wife. With Fukada, she returned to Tokyo in 1929, living at first in Abiko, Chiba followed by Honjo in Tokyo. Fukada had the works published under his own name, and soon was receiving fame and adulation as a brilliant new author, not to mention the royalties from the works. However, leading literary critics Kobayashi Hideo and Kawabata Yasunari eventually realized that Asunarao and Fukada"s previous work Orokko no musume were not Fukada"s works at all, but had been copy-edited or plagiarized from the writings of Kitabatake Yao. The scandal nearly ended Fukada"s credibility as a writer In March 1940, Fukada formally married Kitabatake Yao. Yao soon found out about the affair, and Fukada quickly enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army rather than return home. Fukuda was then ordered to wartime China. In 1947, Yao formally divorced Fukada. She had already published her first story for children in a magazine called Ginga ("Galaxy") in 1946. This was followed by Jiro Buchin Nikki which was first serialized in Ginga from January to December 1947 and then published in book form the next year by Shinchosha. In 1948, Yao moved in with author and literary critic Shiroyanagi Yoshihiko (1921–1992) almost 20 years her junior. They lived together in Kamakura, Kanagawa until her death of jaundice at the age of 78.

Yaho Kitabatake

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北畠八穂

novelist writer poet

Background

Kitabatake Yao was born in Aomori city, Aomori Prefecture as the sixth of ten children.

Education

After her graduation from high school, she moved to Tokyo and attended the Jissen Women"s University, but was forced to drop out due to illness (tuberculosis (spondylitis) after around 18 months.

Career

She returned to Aomori and found employment as a substitute teacher in 1924, but continued to struggle with her sickness. In 1926, she published her initial works in the literary magazine Kaizō. Around this time, she also met fellow writer Fukada Kyūya, with whom she started to live as his common law wife.

With Fukada, she returned to Tokyo in 1929, living at first in Abiko, Chiba followed by Honjo in Tokyo.

Fukada had the works published under his own name, and soon was receiving fame and adulation as a brilliant new author, not to mention the royalties from the works. However, leading literary critics Kobayashi Hideo and Kawabata Yasunari eventually realized that Asunarao and Fukada"s previous work Orokko no musume were not Fukada"s works at all, but had been copy-edited or plagiarized from the writings of Kitabatake Yao.

The scandal nearly ended Fukada"s credibility as a writer

In March 1940, Fukada formally married Kitabatake Yao. Yao soon found out about the affair, and Fukada quickly enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army rather than return home.

Fukuda was then ordered to wartime China.

In 1947, Yao formally divorced Fukada. She had already published her first story for children in a magazine called Ginga ("Galaxy") in 1946. This was followed by Jiro Buchin Nikki which was first serialized in Ginga from January to December 1947 and then published in book form the next year by Shinchosha.

In 1948, Yao moved in with author and literary critic Shiroyanagi Yoshihiko (1921–1992) almost 20 years her junior.

They lived together in Kamakura, Kanagawa until her death of jaundice at the age of 78.

Achievements

She began writing in high school and won a number of awards for short articles submitted to women's magazines.

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Yaho Kitabatake

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