22/06/2026
Lafcadio Hearn, Emil Orlik & Japan
Yakumo Koizum, 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.
Hearn was born on the Greek island of Lefkada but 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 immigrated 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 Martinique in the French West Indies, where he stayed for two years, and then in 1890 to Japan, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
In Japan, Hearn married Setsuko Koizumi, with whom he had four children. His writings about Japan offered the Western world an introduction to Japanese culture.
After his passing, with authorization of the original publishers in Boston, the US, an official German translation was published with illustrations by Emil Orlik.
Orlik (21 Juli 1870 - 28 September 1932) was a painter, etcher, lithographer and woodcarver and member of the Wiener Secession.
After completing his military service in Prague, he returned to Munich where he worked for the magazine Jugend. He spent most of 1898, travelling through Europe, visiting the Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium, and Paris.
During this time he became aware of Japanese art, and the impact it was having in Europe, and decided to visit Japan to learn woodcut techniques.
He left for Asia in March 1900, stopping off in Hong Kong, before reaching Japan, where he stayed until February 1901.
I have discovered these books online recently and now that they have arrived, I cannot wait to read them! They are covered in wonderfully soft parchment and beautifully illustrated by Orlik. Gilt edges, gold splattered end papers and gold stamping on the cover. A treasure in my book collection!
