Natsume Sōseki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Natsume Sōseki 夏目漱石
Sōseki on September 13, 1912 (Emperor Meiji's Great Mourning Day)
Born	Natsume Kin'nosuke (1867-02-09)9 February 1867 Babashita-chō, Ushigome, Edo, Musashi Province, Japan
Died	9 December 1916(1916-12-09) (aged 49) Waseda minami-chō, Ushigome Ward, Tokyo, Empire of Japan
Resting place	Zōshigaya Cemetery
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Japanese
Alma mater	Tokyo Imperial University University College London
Genre	Fiction, poetry, essays
Notable works	Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat
Spouse	Natsume Kyōko ​ (m. 1896)​
Children	2
Japanese name
Kanji	夏目 漱石
Hiragana	なつめ そうせき
Katakana	ナツメ ソウセキ
Transcriptions Romanization Natsume Sōseki

Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石, 9 February 1867 – 9 December 1916), born Natsume Kin'nosuke (夏目 金之助), was a famous Japanese novelist. He is known around the world for his books like Kokoro, Botchan, and I Am a Cat. He also studied British literature and wrote haiku poems and fairy tales. From 1984 to 2004, his picture was on the Japanese 1,000 yen banknote.

Early Life of Natsume Sōseki

Natsume Kin'nosuke was born on February 9, 1867, in Edo, Japan. He was the fifth son of Natsume Kohē Naokatsu, a wealthy village head. His father owned a lot of land and helped settle disagreements in the community. Sōseki's family was important, and they were related to a Sengoku period samurai named Natsume Yoshinobu.

Sōseki was born when his mother was 40 and his father was 53. He already had five older brothers and sisters. Because his parents were older and already had many children, Sōseki was adopted by a childless couple, Shiobara Masanosuke and his wife, in 1868. He lived with them until he was nine years old.

When his adoptive parents divorced, Sōseki returned to his birth family. His mother was happy to have him back, but his father saw him as a bother. When Sōseki was 14, his mother passed away. His two oldest brothers also died in 1887. These events made him feel quite unsure about his future.

Sōseki went to the First Tokyo Middle School. There, he fell in love with Chinese literature and dreamed of becoming a writer. When he was about 15, he told his older brother about his dream. However, his family did not approve of this idea.

In September 1884, Sōseki started at the Tokyo Imperial University. He planned to become an architect, even though he loved Chinese classics. He also began studying English, thinking it would be useful for his future career in Japan.

In 1887, Sōseki met Masaoka Shiki, a friend who encouraged him to write. Shiki taught him how to write haiku poems. From then on, Sōseki started using the pen name Sōseki. This name comes from a Chinese saying that means "stubborn."

In 1890, he joined the English Literature department. He quickly became very good at English. In 1891, he even translated part of a classic Japanese work into English. Sōseki graduated in 1893 and then taught part-time at the Tokyo Normal School.

Sōseki as an English teacher at Matsuyama Middle School (1896)

In 1895, Sōseki started teaching at Matsuyama Middle School in Shikoku. This school later became the setting for his famous novel Botchan. While teaching, he also published haiku and Chinese poems in newspapers. In 1896, he left that job and began teaching at the Fifth High School in Kumamoto. On June 10 of that year, he married Nakane Kyōko.

Studying in the United Kingdom (1901–1903)

In 1900, the Japanese government sent Sōseki to study in Great Britain. He was the first Japanese scholar to study English literature there. He visited Cambridge but couldn't afford to study at the university. Instead, he studied at University College London (UCL).

Sōseki had a difficult time in London. He spent most of his days inside, reading many books. His friends worried about him because he seemed very lonely. He also visited Pitlochry in Scotland.

He lived in four different places in London. His last lodging, with Priscilla Leale and her sister Elizabeth, was the best. He got along well with Priscilla, who also loved literature, especially Shakespeare. She also spoke French, which he admired. The sisters worried about Sōseki's sadness and encouraged him to go out more and try cycling.

Even though he was not rich and felt lonely, he learned a lot about English literature during this time. He returned to Japan in January 1903. In April, he was hired by the First National College in Tokyo. He also became a lecturer in English literature, taking over from Lafcadio Hearn. Eventually, he became a professor of English literature at the Tokyo Imperial University. There, he taught about how literature works and how to understand it.

Natsume Sōseki's home in Clapham, South London

Sōseki's Writing Career

Sōseki's writing career began in 1903. He started writing haiku and other types of poetry for magazines. One important magazine was Hototogisu, edited by his old teacher, Masaoka Shiki.

However, he became truly famous in 1905 with his funny novel I Am a Cat. This book was a big hit and made him very popular. After this success, he wrote short stories like "Rondon tō" ("Tower of London") in 1905. He also wrote the novels Botchan and Kusamakura in 1906.

These books made him so well-known that he left his university job in 1907. He started working for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and became a full-time writer. Many of his books explore the differences between Japanese culture and Western culture. His early works were especially influenced by his time studying in London.

Sōseki wrote one novel almost every year until he passed away in 1916 from a stomach ulcer. After his death, his brain was given to the University of Tokyo for study.

Sōseki in his study (1906)

Some main ideas in Sōseki's books include:

• Ordinary people dealing with money problems.
• The struggle between what you should do (duty) and what you want to do (desire).
• Being loyal to a group versus being free as an individual.
• Feeling alone or separated from others.
• Japan changing quickly with new industries and its effects on society.
• His dislike of Japan copying Western culture too much.
• A sometimes sad view of human nature.

In his later years, writers like Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Masao Kume became his students and followed his writing style.

Sōseki's Lasting Impact

In the 21st century, people all over the world have become interested in Sōseki again. His novel Kokoro has been published in 10 new languages since 2001. Kokoro is also the best-selling paperback book in Japan, selling over seven million copies by 2016.

In South Korea, all of Sōseki's long novels started to be published in 2013. In English-speaking countries, many of his works have been translated since 2008. About 60 of his books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

One reason for this new interest is that Haruki Murakami, a famous Japanese writer, said Sōseki was his favorite. A political scientist named Kang Sang-jung said, "Soseki predicted the problems we are facing today." He believes Sōseki's popularity will grow even more globally.

In 2016, to mark 100 years since Sōseki's death, Nishogakusha University in Tokyo worked with a robot researcher. They created a robot version of Sōseki. Sōseki's grandson, Fusanosuke Natsume, provided the voice for the robot. The robot, which looked like Sōseki at age 45, gave talks and read from his books at the university. This helped students get more interested in literature.

In 2017, for the 150th anniversary of Sōseki's birth, a museum displayed a letter Sōseki had written. In the letter, he suggested names for a villa. Sōseki was friends with the owner, Shotaro Kaga, who asked him to name the house. Sōseki died before the house was finished in 1917. Sōseki's diary was also shown at the exhibition.

In June 2019, a retired professor reopened the Sōseki Museum in Surrey, England. This museum is about Sōseki's life in the United Kingdom. The original museum in London closed in 2016. The new museum has over 10,000 items, including translated books and magazines from Sōseki's time in London.

Sōseki also appears as a character in video games like The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures. In the game, he has a pet cat named Wagahai, which is a nod to his novel I Am a Cat. He also shows up in the sequel, The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. In the manga and anime Bungo Stray Dogs, a character is named after and based on Sōseki. This character has an ability called 'I Am a Cat', allowing him to turn into a cat.

Major Works by Natsume Sōseki

Here are some of Sōseki's most important works:

Images for kids

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  Obverse of a 1984 series 1000 Japanese yen banknote

See also

In Spanish: Natsume Sōseki para niños

• Anglo-Japanese relations
• Fukuzawa Yukichi
• Fusanosuke Natsume – Sōseki's grandson
• Japanese community of London
• Japanese literature
• List of Japanese authors
• Minae Mizumura – finished Natsume's last, unfinished novel, Light and Darkness
• Nakae Chōmin
• Susumu Nishibe
• Tsuneari Fukuda
• Yamamoto Tsunetomo