Troubled Waters

Ichiyo Higuchi, Japan's first professional female author, wrote about daily life with unprecedented intimacy and honesty. This new translation of her finest stories showcases the profound sensitivity, lyrical eye and classical elegance of a revered Japanese writer.

Vividly evoking the colourful festivals and salty street banter of Tokyo's turn-of-the-century red-light district, delicately eliciting its inhabitants' quiet yearning and regret, Higuchi introduces us to children losing their innocence, working-class women losing their livelihoods, and teahouse courtesans losing their hearts. In her clear-eyed vision of the world, longing and memory are what save us.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.