Kokoro by Natsume Soseki (EPUB)

Description

Literally meaning “heart”, the Japanese word “kokoro” can be more distinctly translated as “the heart of things” or “feeling.” Natsume Soseki’s 1914 novel, which was originally published in serial format in a Japanese newspaper, “Kokoro” deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era. Divided into three parts “Sensei and I,” “My Parents and I,” and “Sensei and His Testament,” the novel explores the themes of loneliness and isolation. In the first part we find the narrator attending university where he befriends an older man, known only as “Sensei,” who lives a largely reclusive life. In the second part of the novel the narrator graduates from college and returns home to await the death of his father. The third part of the novel recounts a letter that the narrator receives from the “Sensei,” which describes the circumstances that caused his loss of faith in humanity and the guilt he feels over the death of a childhood friend which drives him to the reclusive life that he has led. A deeply thematic novel “Kokoro” provides an excellent introduction to one of Japan’s most beloved authors, Natsume Soseki.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is a review specifically of the hardcover Mint Editions publication of ‘Kokoro.’I love Soseki’s writing. The theme of this novel examines the casualties of the rapid Westernization of Japan, an oft underrepresented facet of the Japanese experience, which in the eyes of foreigners is so often buried beneath contemporary pop culture references. I relate to this story even today–of experiencing the feeling of falling through the cracks, getting left behind, and living in a world in which there is no place for me.Some things about the Mint Editions book:1. I noticed that this translation is different to the Edwin McClellan translation. It was a pleasant surprise to find that I actually prefer this translation, which preserves the meaning and simplicity of the original text but also finds a way to be quietly lyrical with its content.2. Oddly, the translator was not credited anywhere in the book. In fact, there was very little publication information. Another oddity was that each break in the text was presented as a new chapter, so the book was divided into many short chapters and not just into the three main parts. This isn’t necessarily a problem, though, and if you are reader who likes to take frequent breaks from the text, it may actually be a draw.3. The binding is simple but feels sturdy. The cover is attractive and not overwhelming.4. The only reason I take off a star is because it could have used one more pass over by a copywriter. There are typos that begin partway through the text and then continue to appear with some frequency. Some of these typos interfere with understanding the text. There was also a small translation inconsistency in the early chapters, which is easy enough to overlook but still something I noticed as a fellow Japanese-English translator.Overall, this novel has my full recommendation, and this Mint Editions publication, in spite of the caveats listed above, has my recommendation as well.

⭐Kokoro is Soseki Natume’s novel of masterpiece.It looks just like the deep work of the Jodo-Shinshu sect of Buddhism that is the teaching of Japanese famous Shinran.It seems to be written about the theme of evil which human beings have.I as narrator first met respectful Sensei in Kamakura.Sensei has no job and seems to have deep philosophy.And he seems to have deep distress.I as narrator is a student and young.Therefore the young narrator has not his own thought and has little experience .Therefore Sensei may seem to be attractive.He has a beautiful wife and no children.When they started to talk the subject of children, Sensei said that we shall have no children because we received suitable punishment.And he visits the Zoshigaya grave regularly.When I as narrator get interested in it and inquired, Sensei answered that it is his good friend grave.Afterwards Sensei leaves his last will and testament, and commits suicide .Next sentence is the passage from his will.【You can imagine my amazement when K launched into a ponderous confession of his agonized love for Ojosan.I froze, as if his words were a magic wand that turned me instantly to stone.My mouth failed to so much as twitch in an effort to respond.My whole being was reduced to a single concentrated point—of terror, of pain.I stiffened instantaneously from head to foot, like stone or steel. So rigid was I that I almost lost the power of breath.Luckily, however, this state quickly passed. A moment later I had returned to human feelings. And now a bitter regret swept over me. He had beaten me to it.I had no idea what my next move should be, however, I was too distressed, I suppose, to think coherently.I simply remained frozen, uncomfortably aware of the nasty sweat that was soaking the armpits of my shirt.K, meanwhile, was continuing the faltering confession of his love, pausing from time to grope for words. I was in agony. My distress must have been written on my face as blatantly as some advertising poster, I thought.Even K must surely notice it. But it seemed in fact that his attention was too deeply focused on himself to register my expression.His confession never varied in tone. There was a heavy dullness to it, it seemed to me, and a kind of unyielding inertia.While part of me listened to this faltering declaration, my heart was seething with the question What shall I do, oh, What shall I do? so that I scarecely comprehended the details of what K was saying.The overall tone of his words , however, struck me to to the core. So my pain was now mixed with a kind of terror—the beginnings of a horrified recognition that he was stronger than I.When K finished, I could say nothing. I was not struck dumb by any internal debate about whether it would be wiser to make the same confession to him or to keep my secret to myself.It was simply that I could not speak. Nor did I wish to.At lunch K and I faced each other across the table. Served by the maid, we ate what seemed to me an unusually tasteless meal.We spoke barely a word during the meal.We had no idea when Okusan and Ojosan would return. 】

⭐As I heartily read and enjoyed ‘Kokoro’, I wondered to myself ‘why do I like this?’ I suppose I related to the nondescript narrator. But then, someone else with a personality extremely different from mine might also relate. I bathed in the honesty of the very personal voices and the simple clarity of the prose, like I might bathe in the summer sun. I never want to come inside in the summertime. I guess it’s stupid to wish or believe that Sensei and his protege met again after the close of the text.Anyway, the night after I finished ‘Kokoro’, I dreamt that I would speak the last word ever spoken by a human being, that with my last word, the entire human race would go extinct and silent. I opened my window and, aware of the magnitude, I spoke my last word and all life on earth went dark. Then I woke up.

⭐Whether it is the original writing or what seems to be an extraordinary translation, this book’s prose is a joy to read. The succinct yet powerful sentences, the very short chapters, the matter-of-fact way in which it’s written are all wonderful.Other reviewers have gone into great details of the plot; I won’t for various reasons, but while it’s eminently readable and easy to follow, the denouement strikes me as so classically Japanese as to be alien to our culture. The sensei who is the subject of the book commits what he believes to be an unforgivable act and spends the rest of his life atoning for it — though “atoning” is not quite the right word; maybe it’s clearer to say he spends the rest of his life feeling guilty about it and — almost — doesn’t do anything about it. I found that part of it a bit hard to accept, but that is probably more a statement of the cultural differences between early 20th Century Japan and 21st Century America than it is about a failing of the book.

⭐Really annoyed. Amazon have mixed two novels together. I was looking for the novel by Natsume Soseki. The reviews are about the book by Natsume Soseki. The ‘About the Author’ bit is too. But the downloaded book is a different book by another author by Keith Yatsuhashi. Poor cataloguing. I’m going to ask for a refund. Others beware.

⭐Book was in good condition and arrived promptly. Having returned a borrowed copy I needed my own in a pinch and this book was brilliant. I was only interested in the content but things to note; there are no page numbers and the spacing of the book is inaccurate so that by counting the pages it isn’t like branded versions of the book. Some of the translations are slightly different but aren’t wrong just a different interpretation. Lastly chapters are separated by little asterisks rather than anything more established. Overall the content of the book was good and would recommend for a leisurely read.

⭐Wonderful story that captures the human heart in its pages. Each chapter is 2-2.5 pages, making this amazing read even easier to pick up for another session.

⭐I read this in Japanese when I was a child and re-reading it in English is quite an experience. This is a real classical literature and two friends who read this book agreed. I think I will re-read all Soseki’s books now.

⭐Do not, under any circumstances, purchase this copy of Kokoro, not only are there no page numbers, chapters, or publisher/translator information, the paragraphing is god awful, every sentence is a new paragraph and as an added bonus there are numerous spelling errors and references to notes that don’t exist. Why the Book Depository would even sell this copy is beyond me. Avoid like the plague.

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