Okamoto Kanoko

Okamoto Kanoko (1889–1939) was a Japanese poet and writer. She was born in Takatsu, Kanagawa Prefecture, as the eldest of nine siblings and received private instruction from an early age. She married the artist Okamoto Ippei in 1910 and joined the feminist group associated with the magazine Seitō in 1911. In addition to writing tanka poetry, she produced prose, plays, and essays. Her early poetry collections include Karoki netami ("Quiet Jealousy," 1912) and Ai no nayami ("The Torment of Love," 1918). She is also known for the 1936 story Tsuru wa yamiki ("The Crane Fell Ill"), which portrays the final years of the writer Akutagawa Ryūnosuke.