Relay Column: The Closet of a Young Lady & the Reincarnation of Kimonos (ICHEN LIN)

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, I have been living in Japan since 2015 and have been conducting research primarily on Japanese female literary figures during my 8 years in Japan. The first person who piqued my interest was Ogai Mori's eldest daughter, Mari Mori.

Mari Mori was born in Tokyo in 1903. After two divorces, she began her career as a writer after turning 50. In 1957, at the age of 54, she won the Japan Essayist Club Prize for her essay collection "父の帽子," which reminisced about her father, Ogai. From 1965 to 1975, she wrote her representative work, the romance novel between father and daughter, "甘い蜜の部屋." She passed away in her room from heart failure in 1987.

In the early 20th century, in the bustling metropolis that Tokyo had become, Mari Mori wore clothes tailored in Germany, ate Western cuisine at Seiyoken, and was likely the first Japanese child to grow up listening to Grimms' Fairy Tales. Ogai built a house near Tokyo Imperial University, from which Tokyo Bay could be seen, and named it "観潮楼." Thus, Mari grew up overlooking all of Tokyo. She commuted to school by rickshaw, and when she returned home, she had private tutors in French and piano. Even when she was in the third or fourth year of girls' school, her mother still did her hair, and a maid would bring hot water for washing. Due to her kidney issues, she always drank milk and cider, which were considered medicinal at the time. Wearing colorful kimono and taking piano lessons, Mari was the ideal image of a young lady from a wealthy family in the Meiji era. It can be said that there were hardly any other women who grew up in such a unique environment.