Wenceslau José de Sousa Moraes was born on May 30th, 1854 in Lisbon, the son of José de Sousa Moraes and Maria Amália de Figueiredo Moraes. Since his youth, he nurtured a great interest in writing and drawing but opted for a military career at the age of 17, enlisting in Regimento de Caçadores nº5. Although his maternal grandfather belonged to the Army, he enlisted in the Navy and pursued a career as an officer.
Until 1881 he served in the frigate D. Fernando II and Glória, the corvette Duque de Palmela and the corvette Mindelo, on which he went to Mozambique, with frequent stops in Aden and Zanzibar. There he encounters other cultures that feed his writing and creative spirit.
In 1883 he assumed the position of first mate of the corvette Mindelo, a position of prominence due to his good qualities as an officer that many have highlighted. In this position he continued his diplomatic missions in the East African region.
Until 1888 he served in several ships of the Navy, namely in Africa, until he leaves for Macau, ending his relationship for good and starting a new chapter in his life.
In his various commissions in the Orient, he visited China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand, witch frequently influencing his literary work from then on, as well as his personal life, namely his relationship with Vong Ioc Chan, from which José de Sousa Moraes was born.
In 1891 he returned to Lisbon, was promoted to lieutenant-commander and was made first mate of the port of Macau, which marked the end of his life as a sailor and the beginning of his diplomacy and teaching career.
In land, he dedicated himself mainly to teaching but also to literary production.
In 1893 he visited Japan, a nation for which he nurtured a great passion that motivates him to write more and more about the nipponic culture. After several years of writing short stories largely influenced by the Orient he publishes, in 1895, a compilation of them.
From then on, his literary work focused mainly on Japanese culture, publishing in 1897 the work "Dai-Nippon". In the same year, the captain of the port of Macau chooses as his successor an officer of a lower rank than him, which makes him indignant and motivates him to try everything to create a consulate in Japan, which he would like to be part of. After several contacts he manages to be appointed consul of Portugal in Kobe and Osaka, moving to this country.
In Japan, he meets O-Yoné, whom he marries in May 1899. Due to his position as consul, he increasingly focuses on current political issues, often comparing the Portuguese reality to the Japanese one, making many criticisms of the former.
His literary activity increased in this period, contributing articles to numerous national periodicals on the most diverse subjects, with works such as "Letters from Japan", and "Landscapes of China and Japan", amongst others.
The death of his sister and many other events since 1905, increased his depression more and more isolating him from reality and deepening his "Japanization". Aggravated by the death of O-Yoné in 1912, he considered leaving his position as consul.
He isolates himself in Tokushima in 1913, only making contact with the outside world through writing. In isolation, he continues his literary activity, from which the works "O Bom Odori em Tokushima", "Os serões no Japão", among others, stand out.
On July 1, 1929, he died as the result of a fall in his garden, and in his belongings were found notes in three languages indicating what to do in case of his death, expressing the wish to be cremated in Tokushima.
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