Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916)
Author of Kokoro
About the Author
Natsume Soseki's early education included the study of Chinese classics and architecture, but as an English literature major he found his life's work, as well as the friendship of haiku poet Masaoka Shiki, an important personal and literary influence. Soseki's prose, for example, is often show more interspersed with his own haiku. In 1900 the Japanese government sent Soseki, who was a professor of English literature, to London, but, poorly funded and isolated, he found his years abroad painful and began to exhibit neurotic behavior. On his return, he shocked society by giving up his teaching position at Tokyo University to write fiction for the Asahi newspaper, a profession associated with the world of "entertainers." Despite poor health in the last years of his life, Soseki continued to write an average of one novel a year. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Soseki Natsume
Series
Works by Natsume Sōseki
Rediscovering Natsume Sōseki : with the first English translation of Travels in Manchuria and Korea (2000) 3 copies
Nỗi lòng 3 copies
吾輩は猫である(下) 3 copies
吾輩は猫である(上) 3 copies
Κουσαμάκουρα 3 copies
Ten Nights of Dreams: Yume Juya 2 copies
大活字本シリーズ 夏目漱石② 草枕 (Japanese Edition) 2 copies
Cea de-a treia noapte 2 copies
Être une hirondelle: Haikus 2 copies
Almohada de hierba 2 copies
Küçük Bey 2 copies
Motanul are cuvantul 2 copies
I Am A Cat (excerpt) 1 copy
Сансиро. Затем. Врата 1 copy
CAU AM NGAY THO 1 copy
SOCIAL SCIENCES 1 copy
Zbuciumul inimii 1 copy
Từ Dạo Ấy 1 copy
Rahasia Hati 1 copy
夢十夜 夏目漱石 1 copy
Μποτσάν ή Ο δασκαλάκος 1 copy
On Gece Rüyası 1 copy
Cam Kapının Ardında 1 copy
Chouyaku Bocchan 1 copy
Gối đầu lên cỏ 1 copy
Tôi là con mèo 1 copy
Ngày 210 1 copy
Cỏ Ven Đường 1 copy
Unhuman tour (Kusamakura) 1 copy
Socrates In Love 1 copy
坊っちゃん = Botchan 1 copy
Der Tor aus Tokio Roman 1 copy
彼岸過迄 = higankamade 1 copy
行人 = ikuto 1 copy
草枕 (Chinese Edition) 1 copy
By Natsume Soseki The Three Cornered World (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: Japanese) (3rd) (2011) 1 copy
Noticias de Londres 1 copy
UNË JAM NJË MAÇOK 1 copy
漫画 こころ 1 copy
Manass 1 copy
こころ (まんがで読破 009) 1 copy
My Individualism 1 copy
英文学形式論 (1976年) (漱石文学館 名著複刻) 1 copy
坊っちゃん（上）/Bocchan(Jou) 1 copy
Ani ḥatul אני חתול 1 copy
坊ちゃん（下）/ Bocchan(Ge) 1 copy
Pirinç Kuşu 1 copy
On Gece Düşleri 1 copy
行人 (講談社文庫) 1 copy
虞美人草 (1972年) (岩波文庫) 1 copy
現代日本の文学４ 1 copy
吾輩は猫である 上 1 copy
吾輩は猫である〈下〉 (岩波文庫) 1 copy
道草 1 copy
吾輩は猫である 1 copy
Associated Works
The Sophisticated Cat: A Gathering of Stories, Poems, and Miscellaneous Writings About Cats (1992) — Contributor — 112 copies, 1 review
Great Short Stories: Russian, Japanese, American, Irish, French, English (2007) — Contributor — 36 copies
Three-Dimensional Reading: Stories of Time and Space in Japanese Modernist Fiction, 1911-1932 (2013) — Contributor — 11 copies
Takashi Saitō's I Can Read It In One Go! Selection of Masterpieces - Middle School (2006) — Contributor — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Natsume Sōseki
- Legal name
- 夏目金之助 (Natsume Kin'nosuke)
- Other names
- 夏目 漱石 (Natsume Sōseki)
Sōseki - Birthdate
- 1867-02-09
- Date of death
- 1916-12-09
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Tokyo (BA - English Literature)
University of Tsukuba (graduate studies)
University College London - Occupations
- novelist
teacher - Organizations
- Tokyo University
Asahi - Awards and honors
- Premi Llibreter (2008)
- Relationships
- 房之介, 夏目 (grandchild)
豊隆, 小宮 (disciple) - Nationality
- Japan
- Birthplace
- Babashita, Edo, Japan (present Kikui, Shinjuku)
- Places of residence
- Tokyo, Japan
London, Middlesex, England, UK - Place of death
- Tokyo, Japan
- Burial location
- Zoshigaya Reien Cemetery, Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
- Associated Place (for map)
- Japan
Members
Discussions
Sanshirō by Natsume Sōseki in Author Theme Reads (March 2012)
Kokoro by Natsume Soseki in Author Theme Reads (February 2012)
Botchan by Natsume Soseki in Author Theme Reads (January 2012)
Reviews
All praise to translator Nick Bradley for tackling both the Japanese and early twentieth century setting, and his introduction is very informative, but there was just far too much obnoxious academic male 'banter' ('These creatures called humans, purely in order to kill time, waste it by flapping their jaws - laughing at things that aren't funny, finding interest in things that aren't interesting') and not enough cats! And when the nameless cat does get centre stage, there is usually cruelty show more involved. I was going to try the more traditional volume as well, but won't bother now ('if you're here for the cats, volume one is where you'll find them'). show less
This is such a fun early 20th century classic—with perhaps the worst ending. It does get a bit long, and progressively less funny with each installment, but it always held my interest and made me smile (again, except for the end! What WAS that?).
Content warnings:
- Roma slur
- ableist r slur
- pretty bad ableism in general, to be honest
- colorism
- casual racism against the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
- fatphobia
- suicide
- sexism & misogyny
- regarding the ending, the cat dies
Representation:
- show more I'm pretty sure that all of the characters are Japanese, although that took me a while to understand, given the translation
- I'm headcanoning Coldmoon as autistic; there's no way that he's not
NOTE: If you have this edition, the one with three volumes published together, do NOT read the introduction until you've finished the entire thing! There is a huge spoiler that puts a damper on things.
Natsume Sōseki is one of the most highly regarded Japanese writers of all time, and his book, I Am a Cat has had a huge cultural impact, commonly being assigned to schoolchildren today. The book, originally published in ten serialized installments in a literary journal, is narrated by the somewhat arrogant and pompous house cat of a teacher. This cat follows around and remarks upon the foolishness of the people in the neighborhood: the book is a satire of upper-class society during the Meiji period and its mixing of Western and Japanese culture.
This book is best read with breaks in between each chapter/installment (which is how it was meant to be read, anyway). Otherwise, it can feel a bit sluggish, and the funny situations a little annoying. But this was just my experience with it. Taking breaks makes the narration seem fresh again.
I LOVE this unnamed cat! This lordly stray who pokes fun at his master (and company) when he gets taken in and who, over the course of these three volumes, eventually finds himself becoming much more human-like and less catlike. Some of the situations these characters find themselves in would make hilarious one-act plays today (please…) or are the sort of thing you could find on current situational comedies—just with slightly older language. The observations and criticisms the author makes are funny and astute.
(This chapter, chapter two of the second volume, was definitely the funniest and most enjoyable!)
Toward the middle, things become a little rough when the author takes stabs at disabled kids, and then writes in racism and ableism everywhere. I don't know if it had something to do with what was going on in the world at the time, but the last chapter of the second volume was the worst; different groups of people was crapped on by the narrator (and the author?), and I was never quite sure if this was part of the satire or not. But one thing's for sure: from the beginning of the last chapter of the second volume, the vile ableism—both physical and mental, but especially mental—is enduring. It almost seems like something inspired by the eugenics movement from around World War II.
Things pick back up for the last story, only to be dashed by that ending! But overall, incredibly entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking. The characters are so finely created and consistent. I ADORE Coldmoon, who is an autistic man if I've ever read one. Despite the issues I have with these stories (or my failure to understand the satire; in which case, PLEASE let me know in the comments, because I'd love to learn), I really admire this author and will probably add the rest of his books to my to-read list. show less
Content warnings:
- Roma slur
- ableist r slur
- pretty bad ableism in general, to be honest
- colorism
- casual racism against the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
- fatphobia
- suicide
- sexism & misogyny
- regarding the ending,
Representation:
- show more I'm pretty sure that all of the characters are Japanese, although that took me a while to understand, given the translation
- I'm headcanoning Coldmoon as autistic; there's no way that he's not
NOTE: If you have this edition, the one with three volumes published together, do NOT read the introduction until you've finished the entire thing! There is a huge spoiler that puts a damper on things.
Natsume Sōseki is one of the most highly regarded Japanese writers of all time, and his book, I Am a Cat has had a huge cultural impact, commonly being assigned to schoolchildren today. The book, originally published in ten serialized installments in a literary journal, is narrated by the somewhat arrogant and pompous house cat of a teacher. This cat follows around and remarks upon the foolishness of the people in the neighborhood: the book is a satire of upper-class society during the Meiji period and its mixing of Western and Japanese culture.
This book is best read with breaks in between each chapter/installment (which is how it was meant to be read, anyway). Otherwise, it can feel a bit sluggish, and the funny situations a little annoying. But this was just my experience with it. Taking breaks makes the narration seem fresh again.
I LOVE this unnamed cat! This lordly stray who pokes fun at his master (and company) when he gets taken in and who, over the course of these three volumes, eventually finds himself becoming much more human-like and less catlike. Some of the situations these characters find themselves in would make hilarious one-act plays today (please…) or are the sort of thing you could find on current situational comedies—just with slightly older language. The observations and criticisms the author makes are funny and astute.
"'Admiral Tōgō has the Japanese Spirit,
so has the man in the street:
fish shop managers, swindlers, murderers,
none would be complete,
none would be the men they are,
none would be a man
if he wasn't wrapped up like a tuppenny cup
in the Spirit of Japan'
'Please,' breathes Coldmoon, 'please do mention that Coldmoon has it too.'"
(This chapter, chapter two of the second volume, was definitely the funniest and most enjoyable!)
"Next we may ask to what extent did human effort contribute to the creation of heaven and earth, and the answer is that it contributed nothing. What right, then, do human beings hold to decide that things not of their own creation nevertheless belong to them? Of course the absence of right need not prevent such creatures from making that decision, but surely there can be no possible justification for them prohibiting others from innocent passage in and out of so-called human property. If it can be accepted that Mr. So-and-so may set up stakes, fence off rations of this boundless earth, and register the area as his own, what is to prevent such persons from roping off blue sky, from staking claim to heaven, an enclosure of the air?"
Toward the middle, things become a little rough when the author takes stabs at disabled kids, and then writes in racism and ableism everywhere. I don't know if it had something to do with what was going on in the world at the time, but the last chapter of the second volume was the worst; different groups of people was crapped on by the narrator (and the author?), and I was never quite sure if this was part of the satire or not. But one thing's for sure: from the beginning of the last chapter of the second volume, the vile ableism—both physical and mental, but especially mental—is enduring. It almost seems like something inspired by the eugenics movement from around World War II.
Things pick back up for the last story, only to be dashed by that ending! But overall, incredibly entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking. The characters are so finely created and consistent. I ADORE Coldmoon, who is an autistic man if I've ever read one. Despite the issues I have with these stories (or my failure to understand the satire; in which case, PLEASE let me know in the comments, because I'd love to learn), I really admire this author and will probably add the rest of his books to my to-read list. show less
Some books I close the cover on and I could tell you that minute exactly what I think of them, what they were trying to convey, and whether they have done it well. This isn’t one of those books. I finished it. I sat a while. I pondered. I wondered even then if there was something about our narrator and Sensei’s relationship that I had missed, something about Sensei and his friend, K’s? Sensei means “teacher”, but what exactly did he wish to teach our young narrator and did he show more succeed?
I wondered if the main thrust of this novel might not be carpe diem. Our narrator is a procrastinator and seems to operate in a fog of not knowing what he wants or what he should do. He is very attracted to Sensei, who is a man who by his own definition does nothing. But Sensei is a man who has lost a great deal, perhaps his one chance at happiness, primarily because he, himself, failed to act or rather acted too late. I could not see that he had set our narrator on a better path than the one he had followed, in fact, I think he might be primarily responsible for a despicable action the narrator takes toward the end of the novel, a purely unforgivable one in my eyes.
Soseki’s writing is lyrical and poetic, with an unmistakable Asian quality to it. I admired the way he wove the story around the lives of these two men about whom we knew actually so little in the end. There were a million things I would have liked to ask, but ultimately none of the answers would have mattered, Soseki has told us all we need to know.
The beautiful sky began slowly to lose its brightness. And before us, the delicate, green maple leaves, which looked like drops of water just about to fall from the branches, seemed to grow darker in color. From the road below, the sound of cart wheels reach our ears. I imagined that a man from the village had loaded his cart with plants or vegetables, and was on his way to some fair to sell them. Sensei stood up, as though the sound had roused him from his meditation.
Perhaps this is also a novel about betrayal and how the hatred that follows it rots the soul. Perhaps we are meant to see betrayal from both sides, to see in Sensei both the betrayer and the betrayed.
A full day later, I cannot seem to sort this book into any neat category. I did not love it, that is certain, but I did admire the writing and feel there was something very important Soseki wished to say that never fully penetrated my mind. It is not simple to get to “the heart of things”, which is what “kokoro” means, but I must applaud Soseki for trying. 3.5 rounded up for the sheer beauty of the language. show less
I wondered if the main thrust of this novel might not be carpe diem. Our narrator is a procrastinator and seems to operate in a fog of not knowing what he wants or what he should do. He is very attracted to Sensei, who is a man who by his own definition does nothing. But Sensei is a man who has lost a great deal, perhaps his one chance at happiness, primarily because he, himself, failed to act or rather acted too late. I could not see that he had set our narrator on a better path than the one he had followed, in fact, I think he might be primarily responsible for a despicable action the narrator takes toward the end of the novel, a purely unforgivable one in my eyes.
Soseki’s writing is lyrical and poetic, with an unmistakable Asian quality to it. I admired the way he wove the story around the lives of these two men about whom we knew actually so little in the end. There were a million things I would have liked to ask, but ultimately none of the answers would have mattered, Soseki has told us all we need to know.
The beautiful sky began slowly to lose its brightness. And before us, the delicate, green maple leaves, which looked like drops of water just about to fall from the branches, seemed to grow darker in color. From the road below, the sound of cart wheels reach our ears. I imagined that a man from the village had loaded his cart with plants or vegetables, and was on his way to some fair to sell them. Sensei stood up, as though the sound had roused him from his meditation.
Perhaps this is also a novel about betrayal and how the hatred that follows it rots the soul. Perhaps we are meant to see betrayal from both sides, to see in Sensei both the betrayer and the betrayed.
A full day later, I cannot seem to sort this book into any neat category. I did not love it, that is certain, but I did admire the writing and feel there was something very important Soseki wished to say that never fully penetrated my mind. It is not simple to get to “the heart of things”, which is what “kokoro” means, but I must applaud Soseki for trying. 3.5 rounded up for the sheer beauty of the language. show less
Botchan by Sōseki Natsume, translated by J Cohn, is something I'd been meaning to read for, well, a couple of decades now. I've had a physical copy longer than I can recall when I got it, perhaps a gift from my Grandmother. I've tried getting into it a number of times, but just couldn't. I finally did.
The most serious attempt at this book was in the 90s when I was taking Japanese 101 at Seattle Central Community College. I had a Japanese friend outside of class that was shocked to see I had show more the book with me, and that I was reading it, because it was such a deep and specific cultural phenomenon. I ended up saying it was a bit boring, and I didn't really think much of it. I didn't finish it. In fact, now that I've read it, I don't think I got very far into it at all, that time.
I still don't like it. It's a story about a bunch of awful people being awful and nothing good comes of any of it. The main character is infantile, rash, and gullible. Everyone else is also deeply flawed. They stay that way.
There's an awful lot of what appears to me homophobic but gratuitous preoccupation with criticizing how feminine other males are. Ironically there's a scene where the main character is totally mesmerised by the flexing, bulging muscles of a compatriot.
There's also few female characters at all, with three that appear for any meaningful amount of the story. The first is Botchan's nanny, who constantly lavishes praise and care on him with an irrational, one might say economically dependant and sycophantic, way that fails to be recognized as such. There's a beautiful woman who is fickle and the object of a conspiracy who is mostly seen from a distance, when seen at all. There is an old landlady who always cooks sweet potatoes for dinner and is, as it turns out, a useful gossip. There's others mentioned in passing, but this is really to extent of it.
And, pretty much everyone is miserable or awful to each other, and usually both, including the narrator. It is strange, in a way, to think about how this story is, as described in the front matter, as probably being pretty biographical, because the narrator seems to be to be an ass. The front matter seems to describe the main character as a kind of heroic rebel, but no. Not close. He's constantly getting tricked. He constantly jumps to conclusions based on hearsay from people he doesn't trust. And so on.
And, there's not really any character arc for anyone in the story. In fact, in the end, not much changes. The same awful people just, probably, keep on being awful. That's the worst part, I guess. I somewhat identify with the situation of being surrounded by people that I can't really trust, who are up to something; and if I say anything about what they're doing they just say I started it and I look bad but they're the assholes. That whole bit of bullshit is too familiar. This story doesn't resolve that for the characters and doesn't offer any insight into a way out; except to take some petty revenge then pack up and leave. Maybe that is the only answer then, as it's kind of what I've ended up doing in similar situations.
I just don't see how this is a "treasured novel" with "timeless popularity" or "a hilarious tale about a young man's rebellion against 'the system'". Maybe I really missed it without the deep and specific cultural or period context. But, unless someone can enlighten me to what's there but not there, it's a miss for me. There's no treasure here. I felt the ploding passage of my time while reading it. It's painfully not funny at all. He's not a rebel against any system, just largely oblivious and angry to no ultimate effect. It's a bleak and boring pastoral about unending pervasive and dismal angst not worth remembering.
Still, it's well written. It's an experience of a moment in time in another culture that made me think about life. I'm not glad I read it, but I'm glad I'm done with it.
I made 14 highlights. show less
The most serious attempt at this book was in the 90s when I was taking Japanese 101 at Seattle Central Community College. I had a Japanese friend outside of class that was shocked to see I had show more the book with me, and that I was reading it, because it was such a deep and specific cultural phenomenon. I ended up saying it was a bit boring, and I didn't really think much of it. I didn't finish it. In fact, now that I've read it, I don't think I got very far into it at all, that time.
I still don't like it. It's a story about a bunch of awful people being awful and nothing good comes of any of it. The main character is infantile, rash, and gullible. Everyone else is also deeply flawed. They stay that way.
There's an awful lot of what appears to me homophobic but gratuitous preoccupation with criticizing how feminine other males are. Ironically there's a scene where the main character is totally mesmerised by the flexing, bulging muscles of a compatriot.
There's also few female characters at all, with three that appear for any meaningful amount of the story. The first is Botchan's nanny, who constantly lavishes praise and care on him with an irrational, one might say economically dependant and sycophantic, way that fails to be recognized as such. There's a beautiful woman who is fickle and the object of a conspiracy who is mostly seen from a distance, when seen at all. There is an old landlady who always cooks sweet potatoes for dinner and is, as it turns out, a useful gossip. There's others mentioned in passing, but this is really to extent of it.
And, pretty much everyone is miserable or awful to each other, and usually both, including the narrator. It is strange, in a way, to think about how this story is, as described in the front matter, as probably being pretty biographical, because the narrator seems to be to be an ass. The front matter seems to describe the main character as a kind of heroic rebel, but no. Not close. He's constantly getting tricked. He constantly jumps to conclusions based on hearsay from people he doesn't trust. And so on.
And, there's not really any character arc for anyone in the story. In fact, in the end, not much changes. The same awful people just, probably, keep on being awful. That's the worst part, I guess. I somewhat identify with the situation of being surrounded by people that I can't really trust, who are up to something; and if I say anything about what they're doing they just say I started it and I look bad but they're the assholes. That whole bit of bullshit is too familiar. This story doesn't resolve that for the characters and doesn't offer any insight into a way out; except to take some petty revenge then pack up and leave. Maybe that is the only answer then, as it's kind of what I've ended up doing in similar situations.
I just don't see how this is a "treasured novel" with "timeless popularity" or "a hilarious tale about a young man's rebellion against 'the system'". Maybe I really missed it without the deep and specific cultural or period context. But, unless someone can enlighten me to what's there but not there, it's a miss for me. There's no treasure here. I felt the ploding passage of my time while reading it. It's painfully not funny at all. He's not a rebel against any system, just largely oblivious and angry to no ultimate effect. It's a bleak and boring pastoral about unending pervasive and dismal angst not worth remembering.
Still, it's well written. It's an experience of a moment in time in another culture that made me think about life. I'm not glad I read it, but I'm glad I'm done with it.
I made 14 highlights. show less
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Statistics
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- 243
- Also by
- 12
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- Popularity
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- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
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