A Japanese Boy

Open these pages and step into the quiet, curious world of a Japanese boy in the closing years of the samurai era. Shigemi Shiukichi's beloved memoir, first published in 1889, recounts his childhood with warmth and meticulous delight—from family rituals and schoolyard mischief to the slow, inevitable arrival of modernity. Written in graceful English for an appreciative Western audience, this pioneering autobiography captures a vanished way of life with remarkable tenderness and honesty. This edition presents the complete, unabridged original text, enhanced by a modern introduction that places Shiukichi's life in cultural and historical context, along with reader's notes to illuminate unfamiliar references. Whether you are meeting the boy for the first time or returning to him, this is an invitation to remember how a child's eye can hold the whole of a changing world. Part of The Founding Texts Library.