Symposium

Symposium Yosano Akiko: The Hidden Lives of a Japanese Woman Writer

Date

Wednesday 16 September 2026

Time

14:00 - 17:00 hour

Address

University Library
Witte Singel 27
2311 BG Leiden

Room

Kartini Auditorium

Although Yosano Akiko died more than eighty years ago, the story of her life is being retold even today. What is it about her life and work that continues to appeal to our imagination?

Both Akiko’s oeuvre and life story are extraordinary: she ran away from home to marry for love and had eleven children, her debut collection of poetry shook the nation, and her critical essays were published in major magazines—all at a time when being a professional writer was still considered the prerogative of men. This symposium will give insight into Akiko’s life as a professional woman writer and the different ways in which her story has come down to us, specifically by looking at what her oeuvre does not—or cannot—tell us explicitly.

This event is free. Registration is mandatory.

Registration

First, Ivo Smits will talk about Akiko’s poetry. Then, Daphne van der Molen will go into Akiko’s social commentaries. After the break Jean Gordon Kocienda will discuss her novel Girl in a Box, a novelization of Akiko’s life. The afternoon will end with roundtable discussion of Akiko’s life and legacy moderated by Beste Sevindik.

Program

13.30 | Doors open

14.00 | Opening

14.10 | Ivo Smits - Poems, poems: Yosano Akiko and Holland, and that other Europe 

14.40 | Daphne van der Molen, Finding a voice: Yosano Akiko’s early critiques

15.10 | Break

15.40 | Jean Gordon Kocienda, Girl in a Box: The Life of Yosano Akiko in Fiction

16.10 | Roundtable + Q&A, moderated by Beste Sevindik

17.00 | Join the speakers for drinks at Leidse Lente

Girl in a Box

Jean Gordon Kocienda’s recent historical novel is based on the life of poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), a fiery feminist who is to the Japanese what Emily Dickinson or Virginia Woolf are to readers of the English language. Filled with original translations of Akiko’s tanka poetry, Girl in a Box follows Akiko as she runs away from home in search of creative freedom—and finds that love and motherhood are shackles, too.

A limited number of copies of Girl in a Box will be sold at the event and can be paid for in cash or with PayPal. The author will be happy to sign copies of her book.