Lafcadio Hearn

Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904), also known by his Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was born on the Greek island of Lefkas. Of Irish-Greek background, he grew up in Ireland and England and emigrated to the United States as a young man. There he worked as a journalist and author before moving to Japan in 1890. In Japan, he first taught at schools and later became a professor of English literature at the University of Tokyo. Hearn married a Japanese woman, acquired Japanese citizenship, and wrote numerous books and essays about Japanese culture and society.