Enchi Fumiko Ueda (1905-1986) achieved literary fame in post-World War II Japan as a feminist before her time. Enchi typically portrayed the subordination of women by paternalistic Japanese society through supernatural themes in dreamlike settings. Her writings frequently included references to traditional Japanese texts, with which she had become familiar through her work as a translator of such premodern writings as The Tale of Genji into modern Japanese. Her literary allusions to traditional texts covered a wide range of genres, including tales of fiction, history, and war.

Early Life

Enchi Fumiko Ueda was born on October 2, 1905, in Tokyo, Japan. Her father was Ueda Kazutoshi (1867-1937), a professor of linguistics and philology at Tokyo University. Enchi's paternal grandmother, who was reportedly a good storyteller, introduced her granddaughter to the kabuki theatre.

As a young girl, Enchi enjoyed kabuki and tales from the novels of the late Edo period (1600-...