Ihara Saikaku
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Ihara Saikaku (井原 西鶴, 1642-1693) was a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose. Born the son of a wealthy merchant family in Osaka, he began writing hakai. It is rumoured he wrote over 23,500 haikai in one day and night. Later in life he began writing racy accounts of the financial and amorous affairs of the merchant class and the demimonde. These stories catered for the whims of the newly prominent merchant class, whose tastes of entertainment leaned toward the arts and pleasure districts.
Sample prose:
Men take their misfortunes to heart, and keep them there. A gambler does not talk about his losses; the frequenter of brothels, who finds his favorite engaged by another, pretends to be just as well off without her; the professional street-brawler is quiet about the fights he has lost; and a merchant who speculates on goods will conceal the losses he may suffer. All act as one who steps on dog dung in the dark. -- Ihara Saikaku, "What the Seasons Brought to the Almanac-Maker" (1686)
ja:井原西鶴