1925-1993. Writer. Takeda was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, as the third daughter of the Suzuki family, which had descended from generations of landlords, but her family was ruined by World War II, and Yuriko changed jobs from work as a house-to-house merchant and secretary. While working at her new job in the caf?-tavern Ranbo, in Kanda, she met the writer Taijun Takeda and began living with him. After giving birth to their first daughter in 1951, she and Taijun were married. After his death in 1976, she published her essays. She received high acclaims as a “writer of all time” and was awarded the Essay Award of the Yomiuri Literary Award for Inu ga hoshi mita-Russia no ryoko (The Dog Saw Stars: Journey through Russia).

Days of going to and from her condominium in Akasaka and her mountain villa in Fuji

After giving birth to her eldest daughter, Yuriko lived with her husband in Suginami and in 1960 they moved to their condominium in Akasaka. When their mountain villa in Fuji Sakura Kogen in Yamanashi was completed in 1964, Takeda began spending half of each week there, and she later published the diary she wrote during that time as Fuji Nikki (Fuji Diary). Writers such as Yoshimi Takeuchi, Shohei Ohoka, and Masao Maruyama, who loved the Takeda couple, frequented their condominium in Akasaka, and Yuriko was acclaimed “an artist of flawless perfection” by the writer Yutaka Haniya for her talent and aesthetics.

References
Nihon Jinmei Daijiten (Japanese Biographical Dictionary) (Kodansha)
Bungei Bessatsu: Takeda Yuriko (Bungei Supplementary Volume: Yuriko Takeda) (Kawade Shobo Shinsha)

Fuji Nikki (Fuji Diary) 1, 2 & 3 (Chuko Bunko)
Inu ga hoshi mita: Russia Ryoko (The Dog Saw Stars: Journey Through Russia) (Chuko Bunko)
Kotoba no Shokutaku (Table of Words) (Chikuma Bunko)
Yuran Nikki (Excursion Diary) (Chikuma Bunko)

Yuriko-san wa naniiro (What Color is Miss Yuriko?) (Tomomi Muramatsu / Chikuma Bunko)
Bungei Bessatsu: Takeda Yuriko (Bungei Supplementary Volume: Yuriko Takeda) (Kawade Shobo Shinsha)