is the English translation of the name a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Arishima Takeo was a Japanese people, Japanese Japanese author, novelist, short-story writer and essayist during the late Meiji period, Meiji and Taishō period, Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, and , were also authors. His son was the internationall ...

published in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

. The first half of the novel first appeared in serialized form in the literary magazine ''

Shirakaba The was an influential Japanese literary coterie, which published the literary magazine '' Shirakaba'', from 1910 to 1923. History In 1910, a loose association of alumni of the prestigious Gakushuin Peer’s School in Tokyo began a literary so ...

'', starting from January 1911 and running for 16 episodes to March 1913. The second half of the novel was not published until 1919, when both volumes were issued as a set. The novel is partly biographical, with Arishima modeling the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, Yōko, after Kunikida Doppo's ex-wife, Nobuko Sasaki. The main theme of the novel is the changing place of women in Japanese society at the end of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

and Taishō period.

Plot

Yōko Satsuki, oldest of three sisters raised by a "progressive" mother at the start of the twentieth century, is strong-willed but capricious. She falls in love with a journalist (Kibe), and marries him in a "love match", when

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...

s were still the norm. However, Yōko is very quickly bored with the journalist, and suddenly decides to divorce him and return to her parents' house. The journalist is devastated by the brief marriage and divorce, but Yōko feels only contempt for him, and (in the opening of the story), when she sees him on a train, she completely ignores his existence. After her parents' death, and following pressure from her relatives and friends, Yōko agrees to marry a friend of a friend (Kimura) who has settled in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in the United States. However, on the steamer from

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Yōko has an affair with a married

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

(Kuraji), oblivious to the disapproving eyes of the other passengers. By the time she reaches the United States, Yōko decides not to marry Kimura. After taking money from the hapless Kimura, Yōko returns to Japan together with Kuraji. Yōko and Kuraji start living together, despite the fact that Kuraji remains married to someone else, and Yōko has to look after her younger sisters. However, Yōko fails to find happiness, as she struggles financially and bickers constantly with Kuraji. Kuraji proves unreliable, and eventually disappears with a police arrest warrant over his head. The novel ends on a dark note; first Yōko's younger sister falls ill and dies, and then Yōko dies as well, worn out by her constant struggle to escape conventional society and morality. Although she only wanted to live her life as an individual not bound by the constrictions imposed by others, Japan at the start of the twentieth century was not the right place or time for such freedom.

Film, TV and other adaptations

''A Certain Woman'' was made into a movie by Shochiku Studios in October 1942, directed by Minoru Shibuya, and starring

Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

in the role of Yōko (who is named Oshige in the film version). The cinematic version of ''A Certain Woman'' was re-issued by

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...

on March 13, 1954. Directed by

Shirō Toyoda was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed over 60 films during his career which spanned 50 years. He was denoted for his high-quality adaptations of works of many important twentieth-century Japanese writers. Career Born in Kyo ...

and starring

Machiko Kyō Motoko Yano, better known as , was a Japanese actress who was active primarily in the 1950s. Considered one of Japan's first sex symbols and one of its greatest screen actresses, Kyō is best known for her critically acclaimed work with director ...

in the role of Yōko, Masayuki Mori, who was the son of the author Arishima Takeo, played the role of the journalist, and

Eiji Funakoshi was a Japanese actor. He received the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actor and the Mainichi Film Concours for Best Actor for his performance in '' Fires on the Plain''. Biography Born Eijirō Funakoshi on 17 March 1923, in Tokyo, Eiji Funakoshi ...

played the role of Kimura. ''A Certain Woman'' has also been adapted for television twice. The first time was a

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

which ran from February 2, 1962, to March 9, 1962, and the second time was on

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

, which ran from November 2, 1964, to November 30, 1964.

International titles

*''A Certain Woman'', transl. by

Kenneth Strong Major-General Sir Kenneth William Dobson Strong (9 September 1900 – 11 January 1982) was a senior officer of the British Army who served in the Second World War, rising to become Director General of Intelligence. A graduate of the Royal Mil ...

, University of Tokyo Press, 1978, 382 pages, . *''Жінка'' ('The Woman'), transl. by Ivan Chyrko, Dnipro Publishing, 1978. (Ukrainian) *''Les jours de Yoko'', transl. by M. Yoshitomi and Albert Maybon P. Picquier, 1998. (French) *''Yoko : roman'', transl. by Alla Verbetchi - Arania, 1992. (Romanian) *''Cierta mujer'', transl. by Naoko Narushima and Pedro Pablo Ontoria, with a foreword by Carlos Rubio, Satori Ediciones, 2021, . (Spanish)

References

External links

Download of Part 1 on Aozora Bunko
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Certain Woman, A 1919 novels 1919 Japanese novels Novels set in Japan Japanese novels adapted into films