, born
, is widely considered to be the foremost
JapaneseThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
novelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist of the
Meiji periodThe , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
(1868–1912). He is best known for his novels
Kokorois a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun. While the title literally means "heart", the word contains shades of meaning, and can be translated as "the heart of things" or "feeling"...
,
BotchanBotchan is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1906. It is considered to be one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by most Japanese during their childhood. The central theme of the story is morality.-Narrative:...
,
I Am a Catis a satirical novel written in 1905–1906 by Natsume Sōseki, about Japanese society during the Meiji Period; particularly, the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions, and the aping of Western customs....
and his unfinished work
Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of
British literatureBritish Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
and composer of
haiku' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
,
Chinese-style poetryChinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language...
, and
fairy taleA fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese
1000 yen noteThe banknotes of the Japanese yen are part of the physical form of Japan's currency. The issuance of the yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced. Throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 0.05 yen to 10,000 yen.- Before World War II :In 1872, the...
.
Early years
Born as Natsume Kinnosuke in the town of Babashita in the
Edo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
region of Ushigome (present Kikui,
Shinjukuis one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population...
), Natsume began his life as an unwanted child, born to his mother late in her life, forty years old and his father then fifty-three. When he was born, he already had five siblings. Having five children and a toddler had created family insecurity and was in some ways a disgrace to the Natsume family. In 1868, a childless couple, Shiobara Masanosuke and his wife, adopted him until the age of nine, when the couple divorced. He returned to his family and was welcomed by his mother although regarded as a nuisance by his father. His mother died when he was fourteen, and his two eldest brothers died in 1887, intensifying his sense of insecurity.
Natsume attended the First Tokyo Middle School (now
Hibiya High Schoolis a Japanese high school founded in 1878 as the . It was well known in the 1950s and 1960s for the large proportion of graduates who gained admission to the prestigious University of Tokyo; though it suffered a decline in the 1970s, as of 2005 it was once again being referred to as the "best...
), where he became enamored with
Chinese literatureChinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
, and fancied that he might someday become a writer. His desire to become an author arose when he was about fifteen when he told his older brother about his interest in literature. However, his family disapproved strongly of this course of action, and when Natsume entered the
Tokyo Imperial University, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in September 1884, it was with the intention of becoming an architect. Although he preferred Chinese classics, he began studying
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at that time, feeling that it might prove useful to him in his future career, as English was a necessity in Japanese college.
In 1887, Natsume met
Masaoka Shiki, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru , was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry...
, a friend who would give him encouragement on the path to becoming a writer, which would ultimately be his career. Shiki tutored him in the art of composing
haiku' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
. From this point on, he began signing his poems with the name Sōseki, which is a Chinese idiom meaning "stubborn". In 1890, he entered the English Literature department, and quickly mastered the English language. Natsume graduated in 1893, and enrolled for some time as a graduate student and part-time teacher at the Tokyo Normal School.
In 1895, Natsume began teaching at Matsuyama Middle School in
Shikokuis the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
, which became the setting of his novel
BotchanBotchan is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1906. It is considered to be one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by most Japanese during their childhood. The central theme of the story is morality.-Narrative:...
. Along with fulfilling his teaching duties, Natsume published haiku and Chinese poetry in a number of newspapers and periodicals. He resigned his post in 1896, and began teaching at the Fifth High School in
Kumamotois the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Greater Kumamoto has a population of 1,460,000, as of the 2000 census...
. On June 10 of that year, he married Nakane Kyoko.
In the United Kingdom, 1901–1903
In 1900, the Japanese government sent Natsume to study in
Great BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
as "Japan's first Japanese English literary scholar". He visited
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and stayed a night there, but gave up the idea of studying at the university because he could not afford it on his government scholarship. He studied instead at University College, London (UCL). He had a miserable time of it in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, spending most of his days indoors buried in books, and his friends feared that he might be losing his mind. He also visited
PitlochryPitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....
in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
He lived in four different lodgings, only the last of which, lodging with Priscilla and her sister Elizabeth Leale in Clapham (see the photograph), proved satisfactory.
Five years later, in his preface to
Bungakuron (
The Criticism of Literature), he wrote about the period:
- The two years I spent in London were the most unpleasant years in my life. Among English gentlemen I lived in misery, like a poor dog that had strayed among a pack of wolves.
He got along well with the Leale sisters, who shared his love of literature (notably Shakespeare—his tutor at UCL was the Shakespeare scholar
W. J. CraigWilliam James Craig was an editor of Shakespeare's plays who produced the first Oxford Shakespeare for the Oxford University Press.-Early life:...
—and Milton) and spoke fluent French, much to his admiration. The Leales were a Channel Island family, and Priscilla had been born in France. The sisters worried about Natsume's incipient paranoia and successfully urged him to get out more and take up cycling.
Despite his poverty, loneliness, and mental problems, he solidified his knowledge of English literature during this period and returned to Japan in 1903.
After his return to the
Empire of JapanThe Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, he replaced Koizumi Yakumo (
Lafcadio HearnPatrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
) at the First Higher School, and subsequently became a professor of
English literatureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at
Tokyo Imperial University, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, where he taught literary theory and
literary criticismLiterary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
.
Literary career
Natsume's literary career began in 1903, when he began to contribute haiku,
renku (haiku-style linked verse),
haitaishi (linked verse on a set theme) and literary sketches to
literary magazineA literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
s, such as the prominent
Hototogisu, edited by his former mentor
Masaoka Shiki, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru , was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry...
, and later by
Takahama Kyoshiwas a Japanese poet active during the Shōwa period of Japan. His real name was ; Kyoshi was a pen name. He was one of the closest disciples of Masaoka Shiki.-Early life:...
. However, it was the public success of his satirical novel
I Am a Catis a satirical novel written in 1905–1906 by Natsume Sōseki, about Japanese society during the Meiji Period; particularly, the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions, and the aping of Western customs....
in 1905 that won him wide public admiration as well as critical acclaim.
He followed on this success with short stories, such as
Rondon tō ("Tower of London") in 1905 and the novels
BotchanBotchan is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1906. It is considered to be one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by most Japanese during their childhood. The central theme of the story is morality.-Narrative:...
("Little Master"), and
Kusamakurais a Japanese novel published in 1906 by Natsume Sōseki. It tells the story of an artist who retreats to the mountains where he stays at a remote, almost deserted hotel...
("Grass Pillow") in 1906, which established his reputation, and which enabled him to leave his post at the university for a position with
Asahi ShimbunThe is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
in 1907, and to begin writing full-time. Much of his work deals with the relation between Japanese culture and
Western cultureWestern culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
. Especially his early works are influenced by his studies in London; his novel
Kairo-kōis a 1905 novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. The earliest, and only major, prose treatment of the Arthurian legend in Japanese, it chronicles the adulterous love triangle between Lancelot, Guinevere, and Elaine of Astolat.-Plot summary:...
was the earliest and only major prose treatment of the Arthurian legend in Japanese. He began writing one novel a year until his death from a stomach ulcer in 1916.
Major themes in Natsume's works include ordinary people fighting against economic hardship, the conflict between duty and desire (a traditional Japanese theme; see giri), loyalty and group mentality versus freedom and individuality, personal isolation and estrangement, the rapid industrialization of Japan and its social consequences, contempt of Japan's aping of Western culture, and a pessimistic view of human nature. Natsume took a strong interest in the writers of the
Shirakaba (White Birch) literary group. In his final years, authors such as
Akutagawa Ryūnosukewas a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...
and Kume Masao became close followers of his literary style.
Major works
Natsume's major works include:
| Year |
Japanese title |
English title |
Comments |
| 1905 The year 1905 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*L. Frank Baum's Animal Fairy Tales are published in The Delineator magazine from January to September....
|
吾輩は猫である |
Wagahai wa Neko dearu |
I Am a Catis a satirical novel written in 1905–1906 by Natsume Sōseki, about Japanese society during the Meiji Period; particularly, the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions, and the aping of Western customs....
|
|
| 倫敦塔 |
Rondon Tō |
The Tower of London |
|
| 薤露行 |
Kairo-kō |
Kairo-kō is a 1905 novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. The earliest, and only major, prose treatment of the Arthurian legend in Japanese, it chronicles the adulterous love triangle between Lancelot, Guinevere, and Elaine of Astolat.-Plot summary:...
|
|
| 1906 The year 1906 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* December 24 - Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio program, a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech, broadcasts....
|
坊っちゃん |
Botchan |
Botchan Botchan is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1906. It is considered to be one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by most Japanese during their childhood. The central theme of the story is morality.-Narrative:...
|
|
| 草枕 |
Kusamakura |
The Three Cornered World is a Japanese novel published in 1906 by Natsume Sōseki. It tells the story of an artist who retreats to the mountains where he stays at a remote, almost deserted hotel...
(lit. The Grass Pillow) |
latest translation uses Japanese title |
| 趣味の遺伝 |
Shumi no Iden |
The Heredity of Taste |
|
| 二百十日 |
Nihyaku-tōka |
The 210th Day |
|
| 1907 The year 1907 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* June 26 - Mark Twain receives an honorary doctorate of laws degree from Oxford University.*James Joyce meets Ettore Schmitz for the first time....
|
虞美人草 |
Gubijinsō |
The Poppy |
|
| 1908 The year 1908 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Afawarq Gabra Iyasus - Libb Wolled Tārīk , the first novel in Amharic*Leonid Andreyev - The Seven Who Were Hanged...
|
坑夫 |
Kōfu |
The Miner is a novel published in 1908 by Natsume Sōseki. Is known to be the author's least popular story out of all his works. In The Miner, the protagonist has problems with his relationship and decides to flee to work at a mine. During the protagonist’s time at the mine, he reflects on his life problems...
|
|
| 夢十夜 |
Yume Jū-ya |
Ten Nights of Dreams |
|
| 三四郎 |
Sanshirō |
Sanshiro |
|
| 1909 The year 1909 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*L. Frank Baum - The Road to Oz** - Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work *André Billy - La Derive*René Boylesve - La Jeune Fille bien élevée...
|
それから |
Sorekara |
And Then Sorekara is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1909.The novel starts off with Daisuke, the protagonist, waking up and staring at the ceiling with his hand on his heart, feeling for his heartbeat. He is a son of a wealthy family. He is a polyglot and well-read, and has graduated from a...
|
|
| 1910 The year 1910 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April - Halley's comet reappears , and Mark Twain dies on April 21, 1910, the day following the comet's perihelion. In his biography, Twain had written, "I came in with Halley's comet in 1835. It's coming again...
|
門 |
Mon |
The Gate |
|
| 思い出す事など |
Omoidasu Koto nado |
Spring Miscellany |
|
| 1912 The year 1912 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Virginia Stephen marries Leonard Woolf.*Frieda von Richthofen meets D. H. Lawrence.-New books:*Mary Antin - The Promised Land*L...
|
彼岸過迄 |
Higan Sugi Made |
To the Spring Equinox and Beyond |
|
| 行人 |
Kōjin |
The Wayfarer |
|
| 1914 The year 1914 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The literature of World War I makes its first appearance.*November 7 - The first issue of The New Republic magazine is published....
|
こころ |
Kokoro |
Kokorois a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun. While the title literally means "heart", the word contains shades of meaning, and can be translated as "the heart of things" or "feeling"...
|
|
| 私の個人主義 |
Watakushi no Kojin Shugi |
My Individualism |
A famous speech |
| 1915 The year 1915 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* May 3 - In Flanders Fields is written by Canadian poet John McCrae....
|
道草 |
Michi Kusa |
Grass on the Wayside Grass on the Wayside Grass on the Wayside Grass on the Wayside (） is Natsume Sōseki's one and only autobiographical novel. This novel touches on Sōseki's own personal experiences in life and his resentment towards life...
|
|
| 硝子戸の中 |
Garasu Do no Uchi |
Inside My Glass Doors |
English translation, 2002 |
| 1916 The year 1916 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Journal of Negro History is founded by Carter Godwin Woodson, the father of "Black History" and "Negro History Week."...
|
明暗 |
Mei An |
Light and Darkness, a novel |
Unfinished |
See also
- Anglo-Japanese relations
The history of the relationship between Britain and Japan began in 1600 with the arrival of William Adams on the shores of Kyūshū at Usuki in Ōita Prefecture...
- Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
- List of Japanese authors
- Natsume Fusanosuke
is a Japanese columnist, cartoonist. Born in Tokyo to Junichi Natsume, grandson of novelist Natsume Sōseki, he attended Aoyama Gakuin University, which he graduated in 1973. He has written the book , which was illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga....
– Natsume's grandson
- Mizumura Minae
is a critically acclaimed novelist currently writing in the Japanese language. Educated in the US, she wrote her first published work in the English language, a scholarly essay on the literary criticism of Paul de Man. She is often portrayed as a Japanese novelist who questions the conventional...
– finished Natsume's last, unfinished novel, Light and Darkness
Sources
- Bargen, Doris D. Suicidal Honor: General Nogi and the Writings of Mori Ogai and Natsume Sōseki. University of Hawaii Press (2006). ISBN 0824829980
- Brodey, I. S. and S. I. Tsunematsu, Rediscovering Natsume Sōseki, (Kent: Global Oriental, 2000)
- Doi, Takeo, trans. by W. J. Tyler, The Psychological World of Natsume Sōseki. Harvard University Asia Center (1976). ISBN 0674721160
- Gessel, Van C. Three Modern Novelists: Soseki, Tanizaki, Kawabata. Kodansha International, 1993
- Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years...
, Donald. Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature of the Modern Era: Fiction, Chapter 12. 2nd Revised Edition, Columbia University Press, 1998.
- Milward
Peter Milward is a Jesuit priest and literary scholar. He is emeritus professor of English Literature at Sophia University in Tokyo and a leading figure in scholarship on English Renaissance literature. He has been chair of the Renaissance Institute at Sophia University since its inception in 1974...
, Peter. The Heart of Natsume Sōseki: First Impressions of His Novels. Azuma Shobo (1981). ASINAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
: B000IK2690
- Olson, Lawrence. Ambivalent Moderns: Portraits of Japanese Cultural Identity. Savage, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield (1992). ISBN 0847677397
- Ridgeway, William N. A Critical Study of The Novels of Natsume Sōseki, 1867–1916. Edwin Mellen Press
The Edwin Mellen Press, based in Lewiston, New York is a niche publisher of scholarly material and advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. They publish a variety of tomes including monographs, bibliographies, concordances, dictionaries, conference proceedings, dissertations, and...
(January 28, 2005). ISBN 0773462309
- Yu, Beongchoeon. Natsume Sōseki. Macmillan Publishing Company (1984). ISBN 0805728503
External links
- natsumesoseki.com
- Natsume Sōseki at かまくら GreenNet, the website of Kamakura City
- Natsume Souseki at Meisaku Live
- Video: House of Ogai Mori & Soseki Natsume
- Natsume Souseki at Amazon Kindle Store
- Sōseki page including links to the entire text of Kokoro
- Natsume Sōseki on aozora.gr.jp (complete texts with furigana
is a Japanese reading aid, consisting of smaller kana, or syllabic characters, printed next to a kanji or other character to indicate its pronunciation. In horizontal text, yokogaki, they are placed above the line of text, while in vertical text, tategaki, they are placed to the right of the line...
)
- Tohoku University
, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and is a member of the National Seven Universities...
: Natsume Soseki Library
- Natsume Sōseki's grave