Fodor's Expert Review Lafcadio Hearn's Former Residence

The celebrated writer's house has remained unchanged since he left Matsue in 1891. Born of an Irish father and a Greek mother, Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904) spent his early years in Europe and moved to the United States to become a journalist. In 1890 he traveled to Yokohama, Japan, and made his way to Matsue, where he began teaching. There he met and married a samurai's daughter named Setsu Koizumi. He later took posts in Kumamoto, Kobe, and Tokyo. Disdainful of the materialism of the West, he was destined to be a lifelong Japanophile and resident. He became a Japanese citizen, taking the name Yakumo Koizumi. His most famous works were Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan (1894) and Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (1904). The house's simple elegance makes it worth a quick stop even for those unfamiliar with Hearn.