Lafcadio Hearn

Lafcadio Hearn

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), born in Greece Greek father and Irish mother, grew up between Greece and Ireland. At nineteen he moved to the United States to start his career in journalism and then to Japan in 1890, where he spent the rest of his life as a teacher and writer. He was one of the first Europeans to present Japanese culture to the Western reader. His long stay in Japan, coupled with his deep understanding of Japanese culture and traditions and his poetic imagination and narrative style have ensured him a special place in the Western reading community but their special sensitivity and complete understanding of the Japanese temperament have secured his even more privileged in the heart of the Japanese, who still consider him the West has understood them better place.