The house spirit, and other stories

Kanoko Okamoto was one of the most prominent writers of pre-war Japan. The elegant and impressionistic stories were written and published during the last three years of her life, and have recently been re-issued in her homeland. As a young woman Okamoto dedicated herself to the pursuit of literature. Her metier was the poetic form, tanka, which she used to express passionate feelings of love or hate, joy or sorrow. By the time of her European travels in the early '30s her reputation as a poet was well established. Upon her return to Japan, Okamoto began writing stories and novellas. Choosing the theme of conflict between tradition and the individual, she used simple description to prepare the reader for the inner emotional drama which stirred at the core of her writing. The translator's biographical essay offers special insight into the passionate and complicated life which generated Okamoto's stories.