Izumi Kyoka (1873-1939) was born in Kanazawa en1873 within a family of artisans and artists. Due to family economic insecurity studied at a free school run by Presbyterian missionaries. After a failed attempt to get into college, Kyoka moves to Tokyo in 1890 with the dream of being a writer and is accepted as a boarder at the home of writer Ozaki Koyo. In 1985 aroused the interest of the public to "Night Patrol" and the acclaimed "The OR" and success culminated in 1900 with "The Saint of Mount Koya" his most emblematic work, to be followed by an extensive collection of accounts between most notably "The scarlet woman" and "a spring day." In 1973, to commemorate the centenary of his birth, the prestigious literary prize bearing his name was established.