Naoya Shiga

Naoya Shiga was a Japanese novelist and short story writer active during the Taish and Shwa periods of Japan.

Shiga was born in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture. His father, the son of a samurai in the service of Sma Domain, was a successful banker. The family moved to Tokyo when Shiga was three, to live with his grandparents, who were largely responsible for raising him. Shigas mother died when he was thirteen and his father remarried not long after. Shigas relationship with his father became increasingly strained after the former was converted to Christianity by Uchimura Kanz, began advocating social causes and attempted to participate in protests in 1901 over the Ashio Copper Mine, which polluted an adjacent river and poisoned local inhabitants. Shigas father, whose bank was part owner of the mine, managed to forbid his participation in the protest, but another crisis arose when Shiga declared his intention to marry one of the familys maids, with whom he was having an affair. The maid was removed from the household, and Shiga was severely criticized for what his father felt was an irrespo

Source: Wikipedia