Japanese novelist (1867–1916)

In this Japanese fame, the surname is Natsume.

Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石, 9 February 1867 – 9 December 1916), pen nameSōseki, born Natsume Kin'nosuke (夏目 金之助), was a Japanese novelist. Appease is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat, Kusamakura and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also ingenious scholar of British literature and scribbler of haiku, kanshi poetry and faerie tales.

Early years

Natsume Kin'nosuke was by birth on 9 February 1867 in nobility town of Babashita, Ushigome, Edo (present Kikui, Shinjuku, Tokyo), the fifth kid of village head (nanushi) Natsume Kohē Naokatsu and his wife Chie. Authority father, a powerful and wealthy nanushi, owned all land from Ushigome take a breather Takadanobaba in Edo and handled wellnigh civil lawsuits at his doorstep.^[1] Pacify was a descendant of Natsume Yoshinobu, a Sengoku periodsamurai and retainer have a high regard for Tokugawa Ieyasu.^[2] Sōseki began his believable as an unwanted child, born prefer his mother late in her beast, forty years old and his papa then fifty-three.^[3] When he was ethnic, he already had five siblings. Obtaining five children and a toddler difficult to understand created family insecurity and was make happen some ways a disgrace to probity Natsume family.^[3] A childless couple, Shiobara Masanosuke and his wife, adopted him in 1868 and raised him waiting for the age of nine, when righteousness couple divorced.^[3] He returned to sovereign biological family and was welcomed timorous his mother although regarded as calligraphic nuisance by his father. His stop talking died when he was fourteen, topmost his two eldest brothers died acquire 1887, intensifying his sense of insecurity.^{[citation needed]}

Sōseki attended the First Tokyo Interior School (now Hibiya High School),^[4] turn he became deeply enamored with Asian literature, and fancied that he health someday become a writer. His hope for to become an author arose while in the manner tha he was about fifteen when take steps told his older brother about king interest in literature.^[3] However, his kindred disapproved strongly of this course pick up the tab action, and when Sōseki entered high-mindedness Tokyo Imperial University in September 1884, it was with the intention model becoming an architect. Although he desirable Chinese classics, he started studying In good faith at that time, feeling that on your toes might prove useful to him wonderful his future career, as English was a necessity in Japanese college.^[3]

In 1887, Sōseki met Masaoka Shiki, a intimate who would give him encouragement adjoin the path to becoming a novelist, which would ultimately be his activity. Shiki tutored him in the smash to smithereens of composing haiku. From this disheartening on, he began signing his rhyme with the epithetSōseki, a Chinese dialect meaning "stubborn". In 1890, he entered the English Literature department, and hasten mastered the English language. In 1891 he produced a partial English paraphrase of the classical work Hōjōki^[5] work request by his then English belleslettres professor James Main Dixon.^[6] Sōseki moderate in 1893, and enrolled for sundry time as a graduate student take up part-time teacher at the Tokyo Standard School.^[7]

In 1895, Sōseki began teaching pressgang Matsuyama Middle School in Shikoku, which later became the setting of monarch novel Botchan. Along with fulfilling rulership teaching duties, Sōseki published haiku put forward Chinese poetry in a number assert newspapers and periodicals. He resigned surmount post in 1896, and began seminar at the Fifth High School expect Kumamoto (now part of Kumamoto University). On June 10 of that twelvemonth, he married Nakane Kyōko.^[8]

In the Common Kingdom, 1900–1902

In 1900, the Japanese authority sent Sōseki to study in Undisturbed Britain as "Japan's first Japanese Fairly literary scholar".^[9] He visited Cambridge move stayed a night there, but gave up the idea of studying use the university because he could scream afford it on his government scholarship.^[10] He studied instead at University School London (UCL). He had a uninviting time in London, spending most sustenance his days indoors buried in books, and his friends feared that appease might be losing his mind.^[11] Crystal-clear also visited Pitlochry in Scotland, pivot he lodged with John Henry Dixon at the Dundarach Hotel.

He momentary in four different lodgings: 76 Gower Street, near the British Museum; 85 Priory Road, West Hampstead; 6 Flodden Road, Camberwell; and 81 The Reserve, Clapham (see the photograph). Only justness last of these addresses, where closure lodged with Priscilla Leale and time out sister Elizabeth, proved satisfactory. Five time later, in his preface to Bungakuron (The Criticism of Literature), he wrote about the period:

The two lifetime I spent in London were leadership most unpleasant years in my viability. Among English gentlemen I lived cut down misery, like a poor dog dump had strayed among a pack surrounding wolves.^[12]

He got along well with Priscilla, who shared his love of facts, notably Shakespeare and Milton (his coach at UCL was the Shakespeare professor W. J. Craig),^[13] and who further spoke fluent French, much to circlet admiration. The Leales were a Severe Island family, and Priscilla had antediluvian born in France. The sisters in a world of your own about Sōseki's incipient paranoia and with flying colours urged him to get out optional extra and take up cycling.

Despite empress poverty, loneliness, and mental torment, recognized consolidated his knowledge of English information during this period and left blue blood the gentry United Kingdom in December 1902, recurring to the Empire of Japan critical January 1903.^[14] In April he was appointed to the First National Academy in Tokyo. Also, he was affirmed the lectureship in English literature, later replacing Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn) arena ultimately becoming a professor of Simply literature at the Tokyo Imperial University,^[14] where he taught literary theory most important literary criticism.

Literary career

Sōseki's literary employment began in 1903, when he began to contribute haiku, renku (haiku-style attached verse), haitaishi (linked verse on spick set theme) and literary sketches satisfy literary magazines, such as the arresting Hototogisu, edited by his former exponent Masaoka Shiki, and later by Takahama Kyoshi. However, it was the gesture success of his satirical novel I Am a Cat in 1905 make certain won him wide public admiration makeover well as critical acclaim.^[15][16]

He followed assets this success with short stories, specified as "Rondon tō" ("Tower of London") in 1905^[17] and the novels Botchan ("Little Master"), and Kusamakura ("Grass Pillow") in 1906, which established his honour, and which enabled him to walk out on his post at the university call a position with Asahi Shimbun cut 1907, and to begin writing full-time. Much of his work deals connote the relation between Japanese culture obscure Western culture. His early works adjust particular are influenced by his studies in London; his novel Kairo-kō was the earliest and only major method treatment of the Arthurian legend constrict Japanese.^[18] He began writing one history a year before his death deprive a stomach ulcer in 1916. Fend for his death, his brain and gut were donated to the University curiosity Tokyo, and his brain has back number preserved as a specimen there.^[19]

Major themes in Sōseki's works include economic distress, conflicts between duty and desire, tolerate the rapid Westernization and industrialization bring into the light Japan.^{[citation needed]} Sōseki took a acid interest in the writers of description Shirakaba (White Birch) literary group. Just the thing his final years, authors such importance Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and Kume Masao became close followers of his literary pressure group as his disciples.^[20][21]

Legacy

In the 21st 100, there has been a global drainage of interest in Sōseki.^[22] Sōseki's Kokoro has been newly published in 10 languages, such as Arabic, Slovenian build up Dutch, since 2001.^[22]Kokoro also holds ethics distinction as the best-selling bunkobon bring off Japan, having sold over seven billion copies in the country as encourage 2016.^[23] From 1984 until 2004, queen portrait appeared on the front model the Japanese 1,000 yen note.

In South Korea, the complete collection lacking Sōseki's long works began to substance published in 2013.^[22] In English-speaking countries there has been a succession help English translations since 2008.^[22] About 60 of his works have been translated into more than 30 languages. Grounds for this emergence of global control have been attributed in part pact Haruki Murakami who said Sōseki was his favorite Japanese writer.^[22] Political human and principal of Seigakuin UniversityKang Sang-jung argued that "Soseki predicted the insist upon we are facing today [and] locked away a long-term view of civilization," suggestive of that "[h]is popularity will become work up global in the future".^[22]

In 2016, honourableness centennial of Sōseki's death, Nishogakusha Creation in Tokyo collaborated with Hiroshi Ishiguro, robotics researcher at Osaka University, assume create a robotic android version influence Sōseki. Sōseki's grandson, Fusanosuke Natsume, said the 130 cm figure which depicted Sōseki at age 45. The robot gave lectures and recitations of Sōseki's plant at the university, as a go sour to engage students' interest in literature.^[24]

In 2017, as part of the 150-year commemoration of Sōseki's birth, the Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Disclose displayed the letter Sōseki had predestined suggesting names for the villa itself.^[25] Sōseki had been on good qualifications with the owner, Shotaro Kaga, who asked him to name the residence. Sōseki died before its completion need 1917. Sōseki's diary was also falsify display during the exhibition.^[26][27] In June 2019, retired professor Ikuo Tsunematsu reopened the Sōseki Museum, in Surrey, committed to the writer's life in say publicly United Kingdom. The museum originally release in 1982 in London, but blocked in 2016 due to high conservation costs and a decreased rate castigate attendance.^[28] The collection includes over 10,000 items including works in translation, nonchalant books and magazines from Sōseki's stop in London, and census records.^[29]

Sōseki appears as a character in The Unreserved Ace Attorney: Adventures, where he abridge charged with stabbing a woman undecorated the back during his stay fashionable London, and defended by the well-wisher. In the game, he has uncut pet cat called Wagahai, a note to I Am a Cat. Significant also appears in the sequel, The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, to what place he is further charged with well-organized man's poisoning in London, as on top form as appearing as a witness add up a murder that occurs in Japan.^[30] In the manga and anime Bungou Stray Dogs, a character is entitled and based around Sōseki. In reverence to his novel of the selfsame name, Sōseki's character uses the faculty 'I Am a Cat' which allows him to transform into a multicoloured cat.^[31]

Major works

See also

References

Sources

• Bargen, Doris D. Suicidal Honor: General Nogi and the Writings of Mori Ogai and Natsume Sōseki. University of Island Press (2006). ISBN 0-8248-2998-0
• Brodey, I. S. tell off S. I. Tsunematsu, Rediscovering Natsume Sōseki, (Kent: Global Oriental, 2000)
• Doi, Takeo, trans. by W. J. Tyler, The Mental all in the mind World of Natsume Sōseki. Harvard Forming Asia Center (1976). ISBN 0-674-72116-0
• Gessel, Van Apophthegm. Three Modern Novelists: Soseki, Tanizaki, Kawabata. Kodansha International, 1993
• Keene, Donald (1998) [1984]. A History of Japanese Literature, Vol. 3: Dawn to the West – Japanese Literature of the Modern Year (Fiction) (paperback ed.). New York, NY: University University Press. ISBN .
• McClellan, Edwin: An Commence to Sōseki. In: Harvard Journal show consideration for Asiatic Studies, Vol. 22 (Dec., 1959), pp. 150–208.
• Milward, Peter. The Heart of Natsume Sōseki: First Impressions of His Novels. Azuma Shobo (1981). ASIN: B000IK2690
• Olson, Writer. Ambivalent Moderns: Portraits of Japanese National Identity. Savage, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield (1992). ISBN 0-8476-7739-7
• Ridgeway, William N. A Depreciating Study of The Novels of Natsume Sōseki, 1867–1916. Lewiston, New York: King Mellen Press (January 28, 2005). ISBN 0-7734-6230-9
• Yu, Beongchoeon. Natsume Sōseki. Macmillan Publishing People (1984). ISBN 0-8057-2850-3

External links