A Japanese Boy is an autobiographical account by Shigemi Shiukichi describing his childhood and early life in Japan, written for a Western readership during the Meiji era — a period of rapid modernisation and cultural encounter between Japan and the world. The memoir provides a rare first-person Japanese perspective on the customs, education, family life, and social world of the period.
As an early cross-cultural life narrative, this short book holds interest for readers in Japanese history, memoir, and East-West literary encounter. Download the free EPUB for an intimate glimpse of Meiji Japan through a young person’s eyes.