Lafcadio Hearn was a pretty typical guy: of Greek-Irish descent, he became one of the first foreigners nationalized in Japan. An early educator of what they called it 洋学－ yougaku - then, meaning “western learning,” as opposed to that Confucius stuff, he was much like George Washington, as in “Lafcadio Hearn lived here!” His periplectic habits mean you could probably lob a rock randomly and hit a house where he’d lived. One particularly delightful example is in the park directly behind Tsuruya. It is worth a visit for those interested in how Westerners encroached upon Kumamoto. - William
Lafcadio Hearn was a pretty typical guy: of Greek-Irish descent, he became one o…
