Futabatei Shimei was a Japanese author, translator, and literary critic. Born Hasegawa Tatsunosuke (長谷川辰之助) in Edo (now Tokyo), Futabatei's works are in the realist style popular in the mid- to late-19th century. His work "Ukigumo" ("Floating Clouds", 1887) is widely hailed as Japan's first modern novel. Wikipedia
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