A magnificent survey and original interpretation of the concept of "women's literature" in modern Japan, demonstrating its significance in the life and work of twentieth-century Japan's most important woman writer, Hayashi Fumiko (1903-51).

Utilizing an impressive array of Japanese sources, Ericson interprets the crystallization in the 1920s of the category "women's literature" by considering both literary aesthetics and the social dynamics of authorship.

Two translations of Hayashi's work -- Diary of a Vagabond, and Narcissus -- demonstrates its originality and power, rooted in the clarity and immediacy with which Hayashi is able to convey the humanity of those occupying the underside of Japanese society.