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The Westerner Who Became Japanese — Hearn's Naturalization and the Meaning of 'Yakumo'

In 1896 Hearn naturalized as Japanese, taking the name Koizumi Yakumo. 'Yakumo' comes from the Kojiki poem 'Yakumo tatsu Izumo...' — expressing his love for Matsue. He kept writing in English but now saw the world from inside Japan.

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In 1896 Hearn was naturalized as Japanese and took the name Koizumi Yakumo. ‘Yakumo’ derives from the first waka in the Kojiki — Susanoo’s poem about ‘eightfold clouds rising in Izumo.’ He continued writing in English but now thought from within Japan. He died in 1904 at 54, the year Kwaidan was published.

Koizumi Yakumo — the author who naturalized in 1896 and saw the world from inside Japan: the first 'Japanese-spirited Westerner'

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Itsukushima Shrine — the spiritual landscape of Izumo and San-in, associated with Susanoo, was engraved so deeply in Hearn's heart that he chose to become Japanese

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Itsukushima Shrine panorama — Hearn's name 'Yakumo' comes from Susanoo's Kojiki poem; the mythological atmosphere of Izumo kept Hearn anchored in Japan

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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