Natsume Sōseki

Natsume Sōseki
known as Sōseki orig. Natsume Kinnosuke

born Feb. 9, 1867, Edo, Japan
died Dec. 9, 1916, Tokyo

Japanese novelist.

Originally a teacher, Natsume made his literary reputation with two very successful comic novels, I Am a Cat (1905–06) and Botchan (1906). After 1907 he gave up teaching and produced sombre works dealing with human attempts to escape from loneliness, including The Wayfarer (1912–13), The Gate (1910), Kokoro (1914), and Grass on the Wayside (1915). The first writer of modern realistic novels in Japan, he articulately and persuasively depicted the plight of the alienated modern Japanese intellectual.

* * *

▪ Japanese novelist
pseudonym of  Natsume Kinnosuke  
born Feb. 9, 1867, Edo [now Tokyo], Japan
died Dec. 9, 1916, Tokyo

      outstanding Japanese novelist of the Meiji period and the first to ably depict the plight of the alienated modern Japanese intellectual.

      Natsume took a degree in English from the University of Tokyo (1893) and taught in the provinces until 1900, when he went to England on a government scholarship. In 1903 he became lecturer in English at the University of Tokyo. His reputation was made with two very successful comic novels, Wagahai-wa neko de aru (1905–06; I Am a Cat) and Botchan (1906; Botchan: Master Darling). Both satirize contemporary philistines and intellectual mountebanks. His third book, Kusamakura (1906; The Three-Cornered World), is a lyrical tour de force about a painter's sojourn in a remote village.

      After 1907, when he gave up teaching to devote himself to writing, he produced his more characteristic works, which were sombre without exception. They deal with man's effort to escape from loneliness. His typical heroes are well-educated middle-class men who have betrayed, or who have been betrayed by, someone close to them and through guilt or disillusionment have cut themselves off from other men. In Kōjin (1912–13; The Wayfarer) the hero is driven to near madness by his sense of isolation; in Kokoro (1914) the hero kills himself; and in Mon (1910; “The Gate”) the hero's inability to gain entrance to the gate of a Zen temple to seek religious solace is a frightening symbol of frustration, isolation, and helplessness. Natsume's last novel, Michikusa (1915; Grass on the Wayside), was autobiographical.

      Natsume claimed that he owed little to the native literary tradition. Yet, for all their modernity, his novels have a delicate lyricism that is uniquely Japanese. It was through Natsume that the modern realistic novel, which had essentially been a foreign literary genre, took root in Japan.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Natsume Sōseki — in 1912 Born 9 February 1867(1867 02 09) Tokyo, Japan Died 9 December 1916(1916 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Natsume Soseki — Natsume Sōseki (1912) Natsume Sōseki (jap. 夏目漱石 Natsume Sōseki; * 9. Februar 1867 in Edo; † 9. Dezember 1916) gehört zu den berühmtesten japanischen Schriftstellern der Meiji Zeit. Der Name Natsume Sōseki war nur ein Künstlerna …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Natsume Soseki — Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume en 1912. Activité(s) Écrivain Naissance 9 février …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Natsume Sôseki — Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume en 1912. Activité(s) Écrivain Naissance 9 février …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Natsume Sōseki — Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume en 1912. Activité(s) Écrivain Naissance 9 février …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Natsumé Sôseki — Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume Sōseki Natsume en 1912. Activité(s) Écrivain Naissance 9 février …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Natsume Sōseki — (1912) Natsume Sōseki (jap. 夏目 漱石, eigentlich Natsume Kinnosuke 夏目 金之助; * 9. Februar 1867 in Ushigome, Edo; † 9. Dezember 1916 in Tokio) gehört zu den berühmtesten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Natsume Sōseki — Nombre completo Natsume Kinnosuke Nacimiento 9 de febrero de 1867 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Natsume Soseki — Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石, 1867 1916) es el pseudónimo literario de Natsume Kinnosuke (en japonés 夏目 金之助, Natsume Kin nosuke), novelista japonés, profesor de literatura inglesa y escritor de haikus y poesía china. Sus obras más conocidas son Kokoro y …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • NATSUME SOSEKI — Par sa culture, par la pénétration de son jugement, Natsume S 拏seki est l’un des meilleurs représentants de ce Japon de Meiji qui était allé à la rencontre de l’Occident et jetait les bases d’une civilisation nouvelle. Il eût pu en être un porte… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • NATSUME SOSEKI — (1867–1916)    Natsume Soseki, given name Kinnosuke, was a pioneering and influential Meiji novelist seen, along with Mori Ogai, as one of the two founding fathers of modern Japanese literature. He took an early interest in literature during… …   Japanese literature and theater

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”