Hayashi Fumiko, one of the most popular prose writers of the Showa era, began writing as a down-and-out poet wandering the streets of 1920s Tokyo. In these translations of her first poetry collection, I Saw a Pale Horse (Aouma wo mitari) and Selected Poems from Diary of a Vagabond (H¿r¿ki), Fumiko's literary origins are colorfully revealed. Little known in the west, these early poetic texts focus on Fumiko's unconventional early life, and her construction of a female subject that would challenge, with gusto and panache, accepted notions not only of class, family, and gender but also of female poetic practice.

Hayashi Fumiko, one of the most popular prose writers of the Showa era, began writing as a down-and-out poet wandering the streets of 1920s Tokyo.
Janice Brown is Professor and Chair of East Asian Studies at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. She has written a variety of articles on modern Japanese writers, including Hayashi Fumiko. Her present research interests include Japanese women's poetry and autobiography.