Wenceslau de Moraes ヴェンセスラウ・デ・モラエス

Wenceslau de Moraes (1854-1929) was a Portuguese writer, translator and poet, who spent his later life living near Mt. Bizen in Tokushima on Shikoku. Moraes is often compared to Lafcadio Hearn a contemporary of his in Japan.

History

Born in Lisbon, Moraes attended Naval College before joining the Portuguese navy and serving on battleships in the Far East. He settled in Macau, where he married a local woman and started a family. In 1889 he visited Japan for the first time and appeared to fall in love with the country. In 1898 he deserted his wife and children in Macau and took up residence in Kobe as Portugal’s Consulate General in the port city. It was while in Japan that Moraes began writing about his life in the East for several Portuguese newspapers and magazines.

Move to Tokushima

In 1913, saddened by the death of his Japanese wife Oyone, Moraes resigned from his official posts in Kobe and moved to Tokushima in Shikoku (his wife’s birthplace) and began a relationship with her niece Koharu. It was during his time in Tokushima that Moraes became increasingly Japonized in his personal habits and dress and began to face rising resentment from the locals, who may or may not have been scandalized by his relationships with two local women.

After the early death of Koharu, Moraes lead an increasingly isolated existence until his death aged 75.

Writings

Moraes’ works include Oyone & Koharu (1923), Cartas do Extremo Oriente (1895), Dai Nippon (1897) and O Bom-Odori em Tokushima (1916).

For more information on Moraes visit the Tokushima City Central Community Center. There is also a bust of the man a short walk south of the Awa Odori Kaikan.

Access

モラエス展示場
3F, Tokushima City Central Community Center
2-1 Jonai, Tokushima-cho
Tokushima City

Accommodation in Tokushima

Some recommended places to stay in Tokushima include Hotel Avanti which is very popular with backpackers, pilgrims and foreign visitors to Japan on a budget.
See a listing of hotels in Tokushima