Lafcadio Hearn
In 1890, Hearn went to Japan as a newspaper correspondent. In Japan, he found a home and his greatest inspiration. Basil Hall Chamberlain helped Hearn get a teaching job during the summer of 1890 at the Shimane Prefectural Common Middle School and Normal School in Matsue. The Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and his old home are still two of Matsue's most popular tourist attractions. In Matsue, Hearn married Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a local samurai family. They had four children together. He became a naturalized Japanese and changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo, in 1896. He followed many religions: first Greek Orthodox, then Roman Catholic, and, later on, Spencerian. Finally, he became Buddhist.