Natsume Soseki

By Saki Rokuhara

Natsume Soseki on the old 1,000 yen note

Natsume Soseki was a famed Japanese novelist of the Meiji Era (1868–1912). He became the portrait on the thousand-yen note in old days. Therefore there would not be anyone who does not know him in Japan. He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat, and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. My image of Soseki is that he could speak English well, he had an excellent record and he is the famous writer. However the reality is a little less positive. He grew up in an unhappy environment. I am interested in his life though his surroundings. That is why this essay focuses on three points of his life: his background, people who were around him and what he has contributed to modern society.

First, Soseki was born Natsume Kinosuke in Edo in 1867. However he had a difficult childhood. He was sixth child and unwanted by his family. His mother was 40 years old and his father was 53 so it was late in their lives (Books and writers, 2008). He was sent to live with a childless couple from 1868 to 1877, but they divorced so he returned to his home. His mother died when he was 14, and his eldest brothers died in 1887. In 1893 he became an English teacher but he was worried about many things, including his disease, and English literature as learned by Japanese. Therefore in 1895 he resigned as teacher in Tokyo and he went to different school in Ehime where he continued teaching.

Second, I will talk about people who were around him. Natsume Soseki and Masaoka Shiki were classmates in their cram school. They met in 1889 and they were influenced by each other. Tohoku University Library (2003) said that “In May 1889 Soseki contributed a critical essay to a collection of Shiki's compositions. It is reasonable to suggest that their parting was foreseeable for them from the outset: it is said that Shiki was diagnosed as being tuberculosis of the lungs during this period and realized he had "only ten years" to live.” That is why I think they formed a close friendship. Shiki taught Haiku to Soseki. They were the same age but Shiki was conceited so he treated Soseki like a younger brother (Hoshimiruhiro, 2010). It was Shiki Masaoka who acted as a middleman for Soseki to become a novelist. However Shiki was already dead when Soseki started writing novels. Shiki died in September 1902 during Soseki's stay in England (Tohoku University Library 2003).

Finally, Soseki published many books and he made speeches. Tohoku University Library (2003) said that “Influenced by Shiki, Soseki composed Chinese poems and haikus. Later, encouraged by Kyoshi Takahama, one of a disciple of Shiki, Soseki published I am a Cat in Hototogisu, a magazine started by Shiki.” Soseki gave a famous speech to students at Gakushuin school in 1914. This speech was called My Individualism. He talked about his experience of growing up in the early Meiji era. He argued that it was important for everybody to find their individual identity, but also to respect other people’s individualism as well. Books and writers (2008) says that “In 'My Individualism', a speech delivered to the students of the Gakushuin, an elite academy, he said: "... a nationalist morality comes out a very poor second when compared with an individualistic morality. Nations have always been most punctilious over the niceties of diplomatic language, but not so with the morality of their actions."

In conclusion, I think Natsume Soseki was probably quite good at communication in the sense of his language skill and understanding of people. However maybe he was a high achiever. That is why he was unhappy in spite of the fact he could speak English by going abroad. Moreover the background of his speech is Japanese who were learning about English literature. Could Japanese understand English literature? If a British judgment was different from one's own judgment as a Japanese person, could you insist on your opinion? (Shirolog, 2007). I think this speech is very important even now.

References 

Books and writers, (2008), Natsume Soseki, Retrieved 20 July 2013, from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/natsume.htm

Hoshimiruhito, (2010), Shiki to Soseki, Retrieved 25 July 2013, from http://morinnko.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2010/03/post-caee.html

Shirolog, (2007), My individualism, Retrieved 25 July 2013, from http://blog.hakoniwa.net/archives/404

Tohoku University Library, (2003), Natsume Soseki Library, Retrieved 24 July 2013, from http://www.library.tohoku.ac.jp/collect/soseki/

Natsume Soseki

Natsume Soseki

By Ayaka Ohara

Natsume Soseki is one of the famous people who lived in Meiji period. He was a novelist, critic and a scholar of English literature. He made a lot of works which connect to loneliness, for he had a lonely childhood. Also he studied in the UK and played a role in translation. Natsume Soseki was a talented person, and still influences society now. I was interested in his unique personality resulting from his lonely experiences, so I will introduce Natsume Soseki through his novel Bocchan and his famous translation.

“Loneliness” is the key of Soseki’s works. The loneliness came from his childhood experiences, inferiority in himself and opposition to modernization. One of his famous novels, “Bocchan”, reflects Soseki himself, and both Soseki and Bocchan have similarities. There are two sadnesses in the story, “Bocchan”.

Soseki was sent to another family as a foster child soon after birth, and he was adopted when he was 1 year old. Although he returned to his real family when he was 9 years old, his real mother died when he was 14 years old. Bocchan was deserted by his mother 3 days before she died. Also he was not loved by his father. He and his brother were not in good terms, and he had never met his brother since his brother went to Kyushu for work. Soseki and Bocchan have the same loneliness against family, which is one sadness.

The similarity is not only childhood but also the whole story ― Bocchan went to Matsuyama as a teacher, and he faced some difficulties there. From the middle of the story, he does not trust “Aka shatsu (red shirt)” and “Nodaiko” who are intelligent. One day he felt discomfort against society. He lost Aka shatsu and Nodaiko and left Matuyama. ― Matsuyama is the symbol of modern Japan, and he felt uncomfortable there. “Aka shatsu” is Natume Soseki. Both of them are scholars who graduated from a department of literature. By drawing himself critically as the symbol of modernization in the novel, he also criticized modern Japan. In the end, he left modern Japan. As a result, he lost modern Japan, which is another sadness.

There is a nice sentence which Soseki translated which is favored among fashionable or intelligent people. When he was a teacher, one day in his class, he translated “I love you” into “Tsuki ga Kirei desune” which normally means “The moon is beautiful” after he heard a student translate “I love you” literally into “Ware Kimi wo Aisu”. He said it was enough to communicate your feeling because he was a person in Meiji period when feeling (Jou) was common rather than love (Ai). That is why he thought the direct sentence “Ware Kimi wo Aisu” was not practical and did not meet Japanese sensibility, so he regarded it as better to communicate with Japanese lyrical way which connects with former sentence. It is very natural that he translated this way because he was very smart and he did not like unfashionable things. The reason why he translated into such a nice sentence is that his experiences were different from others, which gave him unique ideas. The sentence “Tsuki ga Kirei desune” (The moon is beautiful) is often used to communicate love by today’s people. They favor the sentence because it is like a kind of secret sign and they think it is more tasteful than using “Ai shiteru” directly.

Natsume Soseki was a representative person in Meiji period. Nobody doubts he was an educated and intelligent person in modern Japan. He is a famous person, but he was a lonely person. He influenced society with his study and sensibility. He contributed to society for giving new idea. However he was negative about modernization and himself. The negative thought made his works interesting. All his experiences helped him to get unique idea and good sense. Even his lonely childhood was not unnecessary.


References

Anonymous. (January 15, 2012), 夏目漱石『坊っちゃん』は自己批判の書ではないか？（再掲）.のび日記～誤読と曲解の日々～. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://d.hatena.ne.jp/nobitter73/20120115/p2

Anonymous. (October 17, 2007), 「i love you 」＝「月が綺麗ですね」 . Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1313126873