Troubled Waters

by Ichiyō Higuchi, Bryan Karetnyk (Translator)

This new translation of the best stories by Ichiyo Higuchi showcases the pioneering author's profound sensitivity and lyrical eye. The crystalline beauty of falling snow is a painful reminder of lost innocence; three children growing up on the fringes of Tokyo's red-light district enjoy a last summer of freedom before adulthood and its compromises overtake them; a discontented serving maid and a prodigal son find their transgressions can be mutually beneficial; and a man's passion for an indifferent teahouse courtesan becomes so consuming that he is willing to sacrifice everything to it - his job, his family, perhaps even his life. Rarely translated into English, but revered in Japan for the purity of her classical language and her status as the country's first professional woman writer, Ichiyo Higuchi drew on her own short life in a poor Tokyo neighbourhood to inspire her work. With immense delicacy of phrase and feeling, and vivid evocations of the colourful festivals and salty street banter that mask unspoken yearning and disappointed hopes, she transmits both the beauty and the struggle of working-class women's lives in turn-of-the-century Japan. In her clear-eyed vision of the world, longing and memory may be the only solace.

Genres: Japan, Short Stories, Classics, Japanese Literature, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 26, 2026

About the author

See also 樋口 一葉.

Pen name of poet and writer Natsu Higuchi. She studied at the Haginosha school of poetry run by Utako Nakajima and showed talent from early on. After her father’s death in 1889, she began writing novels to make a living, but she also had a sideline business, a general merchandise store, because she could not survive on income from writing alone. In less than a year from the end of 1894, she successively published such masterpieces as Otsugumori (The Last Day of the Year), Take Kurabe (Comparing Heights), Nigorie (Troubled Waters), and Jusanya (13th Night). She died at the young age of 24 from tuberculosis.

Her image currently appears on the Japanese 5000-yen banknote.

Reviews

[Nailya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the rich history of female writers in Japanese, Ichiyō Higuchi was the first female Japanese author to make a living through writing. She grew up in a well-off family, but her circumstances were significantly reduced after her father's death. Having received a classical Japanese education focusing on poetry at a private school, she was forced to move to a lower class district with her mother and younger sister. They earned an income through sewing and laundry work, but inspired by the royalties received by her classmate Kaho Miyake, another future prominent female writer of the Meiji era, Higuchi decided to support her family by writing. She was an avid diarist, writing thousands of pages, but most of her literary output is expressed in short stories. She wrote stories of the poor and marginalised people she encountered in her daily life using classical Japanese of the Heinan era she was trained in. A major influence on later writers (Mieko Kawakami cites Higuchi as her biggest inspiration in Japanese fiction), Higuchi died aged 24 of tuberculosis.

This collection presents five of her short stories, most not previously available in English. The contrast between her classical Japanese and the subject matter of her works does not come through in the English translation to a lack of a comparable stage in the development of the English literary language. Yet the translation gives a very clear sense of her ability to capture social urban landscapes. She speaks to the inequalities and complex social stratifications of the Meiji society and examines the roles of women in it. The stories are at their strongest when they paint the larger picture and convey the archetypes of specific character types of 1890s Japan. They are less successful at creating convincing unique characters. I really appreciated reading these stories and I can definitely see their subsequent influence on 20th and 21st century Japanese writers, but the stories themselves did not quite capture me. I appreciated them intellectually but did not always buy into them emotionally. #japanuary #JapanJanuary

[Bookworm Denz · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ARC REVIEW 📖]

Troubled Waters
Author : Ichiyo Higuchi
Translator : Bryan Karetnyk

I admit I rarely read classics nor poetry because I struggle with the pacing & the format, but this was truly an exception worth reading.

This novel is composed of Ichiyō's (author's pseudonym) collection of five short stories, chosen accordingly not only to present some of her finest writing, but also to showcase each of these at their highest point.

As Japan's first professional woman writer, she was able to paint a vivid illustration of how the Meiji era was, through her vibrant descriptions in writing, including the poignant & dark history of the literary world as well as society itself.

Treated with injustice, disadvantaged, unprivileged, in no position to hardly do anything, to name a few - these were how women were regarded during this historical period. The focal point of the book was to give voices to the "unheard" : the poor & the underclass of society, maids, slaves, sex workers, and the like.

Although I have to say some parts of the translation seemed incoherent, I was still able to grasp the thought & concept.

Every short story conveys deep understanding & shows intense human emotions & complexities of moral decision-making not only lying on the black and the white. With the straightforward translation, the flow of the narrative was smooth & fluid, just enough to keep me captivated to read.

I did long for more historical context on the mentioned era of Japanese history, since I am not so familiar with it, but all in all, it was truly engaging!

P.S.
Greatly appreciated the glossary of Japanese Terms at the end of the book. Enlightened me with some terms I was not familiar with!

Thank you Netgalley & Pushkin Press Classics for this opportunity! 🥹🫶

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

P.S. Follow me for more book reviews on:
❥ Instagram @bookwormdenz
❥ Threads @denz.kaye
❥ Meta @bookworm.denz
❥ Goodreads @bookwormdenz

[Birman Erika Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful prose I have read in a while!

[Amalia Gkavea · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘’I wish I had spent this fleeting life as the moon, shining brightly before it wanes, or as a cherry tree, in blossom for its short season.’’
Ichiyo Higuchi

In the Yoshiwara quarter, under the light of the paper lanterns, while the shamisen is weeping its laments, love is forbidden, innocence is lost, injustice, prejudice and poverty weave a tangled web. Ichiyo Higuchi's stories are elegies of the exploration and the resilience of women who have been dealt the wrong hand by Fate.

‘’[...] her lips painted blood-red, like those of a hound that had just eaten a man.’’

The translation by Bryan Karetnyk masterfully preserves this classical lyricism without softening the gritty realism of the Meiji era. It captures a world where poetic descriptions of moonlit gardens collide harshly with the stench of poverty, ensuring the stories feel like both a haunting melody and a sharp social indictment.

And it is not an easy duty. Ichiyo Higuchi's pen is vivid, realistic, poetic. Modern in its feminist echoes, yet lyrical, sensitive. Silent at times, like a courtesan's tears. Because a courtesan is a temptress, a Japanese Circe. She has neither the ability nor the right to experience feelings…She has been mythologised as a predator while being systematically destroyed as a human.

Ichiyo Higuchi masterfully includes references to tragic, obsessive love stories, myths, and customs as allusions that emphasise the isolation and enmity that have created the walls within which a courtesan spends her life. Young women whose destiny has been sealed from an early age. Men whose love for a courtesan turns into obsession, destroying families. Secrets that result in blood as the women surrender their body and their dignity.

Love becomes a torture, a catalyst for misery. This is a world in which love is thwarted by cruelty. Who can trust, let alone love, the Temptress? How can a courtesan experience attraction without any monetary motive? How can love be born in the pleasure quarter?

A Snowy Day: A young woman narrates the disillusionment, the grief and pain that comes with sacrificing everything in the name of a naive kind of love.

New Year's Eve: A young maid finds herself in the centre of a deeply dysfunctional family as the whims of her tyrannical mistress cause her to commit a questionable deed.

Growing Pains: An unforgettable story that reads like a tale, a fable with deeply realistic roots. Focusing on a brilliant young girl, Midori, Ichiyo Higuchi demonstrates the frighteningly limited choices a girl has once she has been born in the heart of the pleasure quarters. Midori must be one of the most memorable female characters in Japanese Literature.

Troubled Waters: My personal favourite in the collection. A story that sheds light on the way the courtesans were viewed by society, an unflinching, brave tale that would have been a melodrama in the hands of a less competent writer. If we believe that these women are devoid of love, grief and regret, this story will make us think twice. What is undisputed is the evil obsession causes.

This Mortal Coil: The story of a young woman whose guilt (over nothing, in my opinion) causes her to physically wither. Each reader may have their own thoughts on this extremely ambiguous tale, but for me, it is a commentary on mental illness that feels almost absurdly modern.

“They lured men with a mellifluous voice, their call every bit as alluring as a pheasant’s before it goes, and with a dreadful squawk, devours the adder that it has caught whole. And yet they, too, were human; they, too, had spent ten lunar months in their mother’s womb.’’

Ichiyo Higuchi led a life of struggle and died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. She was the first professional woman writer in Japan; her talent left a powerful mark on Japanese Literature and continues to influence Japanese writers.

A side note and a kind reminder. I love the so-called Healing Fiction genre, but Japanese Literature has so much more to offer to the reader who is hungry for brilliance. Its wealth, its beauty, its darkness create a unique tapestry where horror meets poetry, realism meets myth, love meets death.

‘’And yet, how sorrowful the rustling of the willow in the autumn winds…’’

Many thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.word...

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Come here for an introduction to the very short-lived literary career of a notable female Japanese author, who had a burst of creativity – and then died aged 24. This, as an 'essential' collection (my word, not theirs, to be fair) is just four stories and a novella, with introduction and helpful guiding notes as regards terms, references and suchlike.

We don't start brilliantly, but with a piece that seems incomplete, yet allows for your own plotting of a young woman infatuated with a teacher. Better is when a hard-done-by maid gets told by her poorly, beloved uncle to beg an advance on her wages from her miserly employers. I skipped then to the fourth and title piece, which was just drear, and showed off two demerits to this whole effort – one, the dreadful proofreading (even at digital review copy stage, things were dire), and two the issue with having such a turgid splodge of writing and no attributing speechmarks; here, the yack of the geishas and clients was awkward, clumsy and never once interesting. It's also plotless, until the overly melodramatic closing chapters.

The novella was little better – something about youngsters living adjacent to the geisha quarter, both those in that industry and a lot more pious. So it's down to the maid – and the final piece, where a delirious woman is given attentive care by all and sundry – for what I deemed entertaining here. It's unfortunate, then – the first professional female author Japan had, who wrote with such an eye to that country's thousand-year-plus literary history – just isn't really suited for the general browser taking a chance on this. For specialist audiences only, then – who will rate this much more highly than my brace of stars, which reflect the average reader.

[Michelle Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Troubled Waters is an exquisite collection of five short stories by Ichiyō Higuchi, the first Japanese woman to make a living from writing. She lived during the Meiji period in the late 1800s and, after the deaths of her father and brother, moved with her mother and sisters to a rundown neighbourhood beside Yoshiwara, one of Tokyo’s three licensed pleasure districts.

To support her family, Higuchi began publishing short stories and quickly gained recognition as a major new literary voice. In just a few years, she produced more than twenty stories, thousands of poems, and a meticulous diary—now considered a significant literary work in its own right—before dying of tuberculosis at just twenty-four.

Higuchi’s writing is quiet yet devastatingly powerful. Her characters—courtesans, maids, and children on the cusp of adulthood—live within Yoshiwara, the so-called Floating World, surrounded by a filthy moat and drawbridge designed to prevent escape. Her ability to capture a character’s essence in so few pages reminded me of Trollope; she must have been an extraordinary observer of human life.

Higuchi continues to influence modern Japanese literature, particularly Mieko Kawakami. I saw parallels with Kawakami’s exploration of poverty in Osaka in Breasts and Eggs.

This is the first time a collection like this has been translated into English, and we have translator Bryan Karetnyk to thank for this gem. Written in classical Japanese rather than the Meiji vernacular, these stories posed an unusual challenge—Karetnyk compares it to translating late-Victorian writers who still wrote in the English of Chaucer.

Huge thanks to @pushkin_press and @netgalley for this fabulous ARC. Please publish more of Higuchi’s work—with Bryan Karetnyk’s expert translation.
.

[Heather Pacella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Troubled Waters is a newly-translated collection of five short stories by Japanese author Ichiyo Higuchi. Though her life was tragically cut short at the young age of 24, she is renown for being the first woman author in Japan able to professionally support herself with her writing. The five stories here, written during various points in her career, detail the everyday lives of the less-glamorous members of Meiji-era Japanese society; this includes maids, courtesans, shop workers, and their children.

I greatly enjoyed this collection. Though there was nothing particularly "flashy" or dramatically attention-grabbing about these stories, they are written with a simplicity and a poignancy fully immerses you in their world. "A Snowy Day" was a particular standout for me; though it is the shortest story in the collection, it is the most impactful, managing to capture the regret of youthful folly in only a few short pages. "New Year's Eve" and "Growing Pains" were also excellent. Both document the everyday struggles of those on the knife's edge of financial ruin, yet also contain a hopeful note, set against the backdrop of joyous festivals and holiday celebrations. "Troubled Waters" and "This Mortal Coil" are much more tragic stories, providing an extra layer of emotional depth to the collection. That Ichiyo Higuchi so eloquently captured such incredible "slices of life" at such a young age speaks to how talented she really was. Credit is also due to Bryan Karetnyk for an excellent translation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for this ARC!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

An good introduction to classic Japanese literature, and an interesting look into life in the red-light districts of Tokyo in the late 19th century.

This was my first foray into the world of Japanese classic literature, and given that I don't tend to enjoy the classic genre more generally, perhaps my review should be taken with a grain of salt if you are a classics lover. I found Higuchi's short stories to be a fascinating insight into what life looked like for the poverty-stricken young women living in the slums and red-light districts of Tokyo at the time. Personally, my favourite of the five short stories included in this compilation was not the tituar Troubled Waters, but Growing Pains, which focused on the children coming into adulthood in such challenging circumstances.

To put on my translator's hat, I felt this was a really effective translation, managing to convey Higuchi's distinctive writing style, making it feel both unique and also 'like a classic', without losing its readability. I will say, the footnotes were a strange choice - there was also a glossary at the back of the book, and footnotes were used at random to explain certain references, while other equally obscure, and in some places more, were left alone. So, that wasn't my favourite, but I am an adamant footnotes-hater, so do with that what you will.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc!

[Hikari · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of 5 short stories set during 1890s Tokyo, in and around the Yoshiwara pleasure district. Life in this district was grim, there was no safety net and an injury could easily lead to destitution. These stories are a real slice of life for those less fortunate. I was reminded in places of Amy Stanley Thomas's Stranger in the Shogun's City, which also narrates the life of a woman towards the bottom of the social ladder and the squalor that sometimes accompanies such a life.

I struggled in places with the translation. Ichiyo apparently wrote in a very "literary" Japanese that was unchanged since about 1000 AD, repleat with its style of punctuation and paragraphing. The translator has chosen to retain this quasi-stream of consciousness / lack of punctuation which means that some paragraphs are several pages long and its not always clear when we've changed point of view, nor when someone has stopped speaking. This made it a difficult read and I certainly started skimming whenever the paragraph seemed interminable. Perhaps I would enjoy a translation more suited to contemporary English punctuation/paragraphing.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Troubled Waters by Higuchi Ichiyō is a new translation of five stories exploring the lives of Tokyo’s poor and disadvantaged during the Meiji period. Higuchi, regarded as a major literary figure in Meiji-era Japan and the first woman there to earn her living as a writer, produced a number of stories, poems, and diaries before her death at just twenty-four. Her reputation in Japan remains formidable. These stories focus on people living on the edges of respectability: struggling families, young women with limited prospects, and those caught in the rigid social hierarchies of a rapidly modernising city. Higuchi wrote in a highly literary, classical style, and the translator has clearly worked hard to preserve the spirit and rhythms of the original language. Credit is certainly due for that, although it does make for a challenging reading experience. The prose can feel dense and stylised to a modern ear, sometimes distancing rather than immersing the reader. This is perhaps a collection I appreciated than straightforwardly enjoyed. Yet I did enjoy this glimpse into Meiji-era Japan, and the voice of a pioneering woman writer whose work still resonates. Demanding but rewarding, Troubled Waters is well worth the effort and is a great discovery.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an ARC of this book.

Higuchi’s ‘Troubled Waters’ is a quiet but affecting collection of short stories from the Meiji period. I always find it hard to provide an overall ranking for collections such as this; all stories had their own charm, but I will say I particularly enjoyed ‘Growing Pains’. Across all 5, though, Higuchi affords a sensibility to the plight of the poor which is not often found at this time. For such a young writer, her mastery of storytelling and prose are evident even through translation, and I enjoyed gaining a window into the Meiji period through these snippets of life.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump in terms of my enjoyment of books, so this may have come to me at the wrong time. But I did find my enjoyment of Higuchi’s writing impacted by the formatting of the book. The ARC Kindle version has weird breaks and capitalisation at the start of each story and footnotes are located at random places. This obviously follows the formatting of the physical text, so it would have been nice to pay more attention to how it reads on different devices.

[Alexandra Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really lovely collection of stories. I like that they give voice and focus to people often not centred in stories from this period - women, the poor, members of the underclass, sex workers. Everyone is treated with sincerity and given complexity, meaning, and intentions, and there’s an understanding of moral complexity and greyness in the decisions people make and lives they lead. The translation is also excellent - it has an easy and natural flow, and feels like it retains a character specific to the author in Japanese, rather than the style becoming muted in translation. It is the type of writing that I just enjoy reading regardless of the plot, having both richness in description and clarity in expression. Emotions are expressed in a way that feels restrained and exact, yet they still come across as intense and deeply felt. The footnotes included are very good in providing points of extra context and cultural references for the reader. I appreciate the introduction to the works of an author I hadn’t been aware of and want to read more from.

[Ankur Goyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Troubled Waters is a thoughtful and emotionally rich book where each story carries depth while staying closely tied to everyday life. The situations feel familiar, and the characters feel real, which makes the emotions land even more strongly.

The author’s personal experiences clearly shape many of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. There is a strong sense of authenticity in the writing, especially in the way it explores desperation after a lost fortune, the quiet pain of a sin committed unwillingly, and the uneasy relief that comes from not getting caught. These feelings are handled with honesty and sensitivity, allowing the reader to truly feel what the characters are going through.

What stands out is how naturally these intense emotions are woven into ordinary moments and daily struggles. The stories don’t rely on dramatic twists; instead, they build slowly, letting emotions unfold in a way that feels true to life. Troubled Waters is reflective, engaging, and deeply human. A book that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading.

[asv:n · Rating 4 out of 5]

five stories. five poignant stories of the old Japan, soaked in sake and tears. such a brilliant book this is. the stories are nothing phenomenal, there are no "wow" factors in it, they flow like a river, they meet each other, and they keep flowing.
from one story to the next, I met uncountable lives, all tangled in their own deals. love, betrayal, delirium, epiphany- this small book has it all. its scented with the cherry blossoms, yet it bleeds like a moonless night.
so poetic, the prose is lustrous. a big round of applause for the translator for doing such a great job at keeping the translation as it fits the Japanese version of the book. its immersive, like watching a Japanese play. in a few words, it fills your imagination. you see the characters standing in front of you. you listen to their voices echoing in your ears.
I'm waiting for the other translations of Ichiyō Higuchi, and to see the Japan that existed before I was born.

[Madeline Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting collection of Ichiyō Higuchi's short stories translated by Bryan Karetnyk. The majority of them read more as brief snapshots and vignettes, and it was magical to observe 19th century Japan and the Meiji period, specifically the Yoshiwara, which is depicted so vividly. My favourites of the collection were Growing Pains, Troubled Waters and This Mortal Coil.

I was surprised by how modern the stories felt, but I did find the writing quite difficult to engage with. This might have been because of Ichiyō Higuchi and Bryan Karetnyk's poetic prose, or Karetnyk's decision to preserve Ichiyō Higuchi's idiosyncratic paragraphing and dispense with quotation marks.

I enjoyed this collection, and the stories felt very authentic, but I didn't necessarily feel grabbed by them or their characters. Would still recommend to readers of classic literature, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for this eARC

[Kuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This collection of stories is somewhat of an acquired taste, I'd say, a little difficult to read if you don't already read a lot of literature from the period and with a different style. I personally always struggle a bit with the "old style" of writing, because I don't read it enough, so this wasn't an easy read, either, which affected my enjoyment to some degree, but I think for someone who reads more old literature and is more accustomed to the style, this might not be an issue.

I still generally liked these stories, though I feel like I probably missed some of their meaning due to a lack of familiarity with Japan of the time. I really appreciated that various women and their experiences were put at the focus of this work, as women's stories tend to be marginalised. In that way, this collection added an important perspective to the canon of modern Japanese literature.

[Claire Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ichiyō (Natsu) Higuchi is considered Japan's first professional female writer and is widely studied throughout Japan, but her work is not often translated into English. We're very lucky for this translation by Bryan Karetnyk as we're given an insight into Higuchi's life through her work about working-class women in Japan, life in poorer neighbourhoods, Japanese culture and foods, and more, during the Meiji era.

I really enjoyed the first two stories and the last one, whereas I couldn't connect with the third and forth at all.

What Higuchi really excels at is conveying everyday lives, emotions and relationships without sugar-coating them. The characters in the stories suffered many hardships and had to make difficult decisions, which highlights how many things in life really aren't straightforward, especially when it comes to surviving.

Higuchi died at only 24 years old, but she was an incredibly talented writer and I only wish I could read her original works in Japanese! Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in historical settings and/or life in Japan.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for this advanced reader copy.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Troubled Waters offered an insightful collection of short stories highlighting the poorer sections of Japanese society during the end of the 19th century. As always with such collections, some stories appealed more than others. For me, the opening and closing tales were the most captivating, 'Troubled Waters' being the standout. However, I was less invested in 'Growing Pains' despite its fame; that story just didn't capture my interest quite so much. All up, though, this is a wonderful collection of stories and a great introduction to Higuchi Ichiyou. Recommended for fans of classic short stories and Japanese literature. I am giving it 4 stars.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌸I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review🌸 I enjoyed the first two, and final, short stories in this collection. However I couldnt get into the longer ones in the middle as much. My maim frustration in the book was the lack of speech marks as at times it was hard to distinguish what was dialogue (this is one of my pet peeves! There are a lot of footnotes to give context and I really appreciated these snippets of Japanese history. There was also a glossary at the back which was again helpful as I was unfamiliar with many of the terms. Overall this was a great introduction for me to Higuchi’s work and I think I will try and read more from them in the future and it was great to read some older Japanese fiction.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a short story by Ichiyo Higuchi many years ago in an anthology and was really struck by her descriptions of her characters' lives. So I'm happy to see more of her work getting out to the English-speaking world. I think it may be hard for readers to appreciate her prose without some background knowledge of the time period she is writing about, but all readers should appreciate the descriptive details and Japanese literature buffs even more so.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this collection. It's a refreshing change from some of the more modern Japanese works that are so popular now.

[Debumere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four short stories and all enjoyable but for me, the first one was the one I enjoyed the most, and I really warmed to O Mine. The rest of the stories were good but I couldn't get on too well with the translation - I don't know whether it was the original or the translated works but I found it irritating, someone said it was poetic in parts and hit the nail on the head however I enjoyed reading of the time and era, and, of women's roles in society.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for this ARC.

[katie. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m afraid this just did not hit the mark for me. I appreciated the craft from an intellectual viewpoint — hence still leaving 3 stars — but emotionally found it difficult to connect with the individual stories. This ultimately boiled down to a detached, read of mild interest, but is ultimately something I will likely never think of again.

My thanks to all involved in allowing me the opportunity to provide an advanced honest review. While these stories did not find a place in my heart, I hope they still reach those with whom they will.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely translation of 5 distinct short stories from Ichiyo Higuchi, Japan's first professional woman writer. I appreciate that it is written in the traditional format, but I did struggle at times with how it was formatted, specifically trying to figure out which character is speaking - just something for a future reader to keep in mind! Overall, it brought a wonderful lens to the Meiji period of writing.

Thank you Pushkin Press & NetGalley for this advanced copy to enjoy!

[Sarah King · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful collection of short stories. The writing was beautiful, the best I have read in a long time. Covering all types of topics and social issues from that time; Ichiyo touches on scandals, love not being exchanged, the working class and their struggles, the pangs of growing up and the struggles that come along with it, the raw struggles of poverty, what life is like being a courtesan and lastly mental health. Thank you NetGalley for giving me a chance to read these special stories.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of 5 short stories have beautiful poetic prose with vivid descriptions that are often wrapped up in the natural world (the melancholy of autumn, the fragility of a spiders web) while bringing humor amid existential questions and relationship drama.

They detail lost love, love-triangle relationships, surviving poverty, madness, ghosts, generational trauma and living near the Yoshiwara red-light district of Tokyo in the 1890's. They show the wonder, youthful maturity & modernity of Higuchi. Knowing she wrote these in her twenties and the tragedy of her dying so young enhances the ephemerality and fragile thin line between life and death which is present in this volume so beautifully. It leaves you utterly grateful and astounded that she left these works for us to read over 130 years later.

I really enjoyed these short stories that evoke a Japan that only exists in books now and can't wait to read her other works.

Thanks to netgalley & Pushkin Press for the e-arc for my honest opinion.

[Carm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Steerforth & Pushkin Press for providing an advance readers' copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Troubled Waters by Ichiyō Higuchi, translated by Bryan Karetnyk, is a beautiful short story collection made up of works originally published in the 1890s. The language (and honorifics that, of course, I had to google because I was unfamiliar 😅) is lyrical and formal in a way that made me stop and really appreciate the translator’s effort, something I am not sure I have ever consciously done before. Seriously. With the amount of translated fiction I read, I should probably be shouting these people out more often. These stories focus on class, gender, and the restrictions placed on people with little power, especially women. Choices are limited, reputations matter more than intent, and survival often looks like endurance. And these characters have endurance in spades.

What I loved most is how cohesive the stories feel without mirroring one another. Each one approaches the same pressures from a slightly different angle. Some focus on restraint, others on what happens when that pressure finally breaks. There are no clear heroes or villains, and very little is resolved cleanly. My favorite, “Growing Pains,” captures that uneasy moment when childhood starts to slip away and social lines harden. Friendships shift, feelings cool, and the world feels less fair in ways you cannot quite put your finger on yet. It is subtle, but it hit me hard.