Tea Talk - 1918

A princely traveler discovers the existence of women reporters. A would-be patron saves five thousand yen simply by giving advice. A professor offers his wife a taste of foreign travel and delivers an unforgettable bout of seasickness.

Susukida Kyūkin’s 1918 newspaper columns follow artists, actors, politicians, scholars, merchants, and lovers as their confidence encounters the world’s inconvenient details. Japanese conversations mingle with stories of American presidents, European writers, and historical figures. Rising prices, rice riots, the influenza pandemic, and the end of World War I enter the frame without displacing the author’s sharp eye for ordinary vanity.

A poet and essayist with wide literary interests, Kyūkin moves easily from a joke about gloves or tofu to a serious memorial for the theater pioneer Shimamura Hōgetsu. This new English translation presents the complete supplied year, from February 16 through December 20, preserving dated headings, dialogue, brief poems, and the author’s reported claims. Concise notes clarify names, customs, wordplay, and historical uncertainties.