{"title":"Books by Natsume Soseki","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780143106036","title":"Kokoro","description":"\u003cb\u003e“Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature.”—Haruki Murakami\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe father of modern Japanese literature's best-loved novel, in its first new English translation in half a century\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e No collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki's \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e—meaning \"heart\"—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls \"Sensei.\" Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt, and revealing, in the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his moral anguish and his student's struggle to understand it, the profound cultural shift from one generation to the next that characterized Japan in the early twentieth century.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206022660274,"sku":"9780143106036","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780143106036.jpg?v=1786011566"},{"product_id":"9780241675281","title":"Botchan","description":"\u003cb\u003eRecounting the hilarious misadventures of a reckless young man who rebels against 'the system' in a country school, this irresistible coming of age tale is one of Japan's most popular novels\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBotchan is a modern young man from the Tokyo metropolis, sent to the ultra-traditional Matsuyama district as a Maths teacher after his the death of his parents. Cynical, rebellious and immature, Botchan finds himself facing several tests, from the pupils - prone to playing tricks on their new, naïve teacher; the staff - vain, immoral, and in danger of becoming a bad influence on Botchan; and from his own as-yet-unformed nature, as he finds his place in the world. One of the most popular novels in Japan where it is considered a classic of adolescence, as seminal as \u003ci\u003eThe Catcher in the Rye\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBotchan\u003c\/i\u003e is as funny, poignant and memorable as it was when first published, over 100 years ago.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43230318821554,"sku":"9780241675281","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241675281.jpg?v=1786012444"},{"product_id":"9780143105190","title":"Kusamakura","description":"\u003cb\u003eA stunning new English translation—the first in more than forty years—of a major novel by the father of modern Japanese fiction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNatsume Soseki's \u003ci\u003eKusamakura\u003c\/i\u003e—meaning “grass pillow”—follows its nameless young artist-narrator on a meandering walking tour of the mountains. At the inn at a hot spring resort, he has a series of mysterious encounters with Nami, the lovely young daughter of the establishment. Nami, or \"beauty,\" is the center of this elegant novel, the still point around which the artist moves and the enigmatic subject of Soseki's word painting. In the author's words, \u003ci\u003eKusamakura\u003c\/i\u003e is \"a haiku-style novel, that lives through beauty.\" Written at a time when Japan was opening its doors to the rest of the world, \u003ci\u003eKusamakura\u003c\/i\u003e turns inward, to the pristine mountain idyll and the taciturn lyricism of its courtship scenes, enshrining the essence of old Japan in a work of enchanting literary nostalgia.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43399702642866,"sku":"9780143105190","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780143105190_b8915e34-fc1c-4571-85b1-7d08f2659ce2.jpg?v=1786011552"},{"product_id":"9781805330585","title":"Kokoro","description":"\u003cb\u003e“Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature.”  — Haruki Murukami\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the best-selling novels of all time in Japan: a modern classic about love, loneliness and profound social change\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA classic of modern Japanese literature, with over 7 million copies sold in Japan alone, told through the relationship between a young man and an enigmatic elder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeft alone in the seaside city of Kamakura, a young student is drawn to an enigmatic older man who swims at the same beach. He makes the older man's acquaintance, and soon comes to refer to him as Sensei.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs their friendship grows, the young student becomes more and more intrigued by the secrets that haunt Sensei, the mysteries of his past that have compromised his present. Against the backdrop of the end of the Meiji era and the rapid modernisation of Japanese life, their relationship endures despite the distance that Sensei maintains - until one day, the young man receives a letter that divulges the full story of his past.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the most popular and admired works of Japanese literature, \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e is a profound yet intimate picture of a changing Japan, and a timeless meditation on love, honour and friendship.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44581716721842,"sku":"9781805330585","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805330585_f79aae3c-1466-421f-9a98-4b35d0233e74.jpg?v=1786028601"},{"product_id":"9780241739839","title":"Sanshiro","description":"Soseki's work of gentle humor and doomed innocence depicts twenty-three-year-old Sanshiro, a recent graduate from a provincial college, as he begins university life in the big city of Tokyo. Baffled and excited by the traffic, the academics and — most of all — the women, Sanshiro must find his way amongst the sophisticates who fill his new life. An incisive social and cultural commentary\u003ci\u003e, Sanshiro \u003c\/i\u003eis also a subtle study of first love, tradition, modernization, and the idealism of youth against the cynicism of middle age. This is a Clothbound Classics edition of Soseki's beloved novel, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. These collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality, colorful and tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Masterfully translated by Jay Rubin, this edition also includes an introduction by Haruki Murakami.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePenguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685854355829,"sku":"9780140455625","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":55896408621429,"sku":"9780241739839","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780140455625.jpg?v=1792599068"},{"product_id":"9781784879792","title":"I Am a Cat","description":"\u003cb\u003eDiscover the original Japanese Cat classic, now in a vibrant new translation by Nick Bradley, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Cat and the City\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'I am a Cat. But I still don't have a name...' \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce a stray kitten, \u003ci\u003eI Am a Cat\u003c\/i\u003e’s narrator finds himself adopted by a local scholar and thrown headfirst into the absurd upper middle-class world of Meiji-era Japan. Now a noble but somewhat world-weary observer, he has ample opportunity to dissect the strange ways and convoluted conversations of the human race.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst published at the turn of the 20th century, and regarded as one of Japan’s most iconic classics, \u003ci\u003eI Am a Cat\u003c\/i\u003e is a captivating exploration of identity, society, and the often bewildering nature of the human condition—all seen through the eyes of a very special, uncompromising cat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eA biting satire of Meiji-era Japan' Jessie Burton, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature’ Haruki Murakami \u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55897833767285,"sku":"9781784879792","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781784879792_7e787467-f2c9-4f8e-9018-b42e0e3f2757.jpg?v=1786025822"},{"product_id":"9780141391885","title":"Botchan","description":"\u003cb\u003eOne of Japan's most treasured novels—new to Penguin Classics\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA hilarious tale about a young man's rebellion against \"the system\" in a country school, Natsume Soseki's \u003ci\u003eBotchan\u003c\/i\u003e has enjoyed a timeless popularity in Japan. The setting is Japan's deep  south, where the author himself spent some time teaching English in a  boys' school. Into this conservative world, with its social proprieties  and established pecking order, breezes Botchan, down from the big city  and with scant respect for either his elders or his noisy young charges.  The result is a light, funny, fast-paced novel. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224861127029,"sku":"9780141391885","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141391885_9adf0980-f9fe-4038-8c68-52b198542ea7.jpg?v=1786011233"},{"product_id":"9781513283296","title":"Kokoro","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e (1914) is a novel by Natsume Sōseki. Set during a period of modernization in Japan, \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of family, faith, and tragedy that explores timeless themes of isolation and identity. Spanning generations, \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic novel from one of Japan's most successful twentieth century writers.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTradition and change, life and death--such are the subjects of Sōseki's masterful, understated tale of unassuaged guilt. On vacation with a friend, the narrator meets an older man who becomes a patient mentor for the young student. Soon, he begins visiting Sensei and his wife at their home in Tokyo, where they live an affluent, simple life. As the years go by, the narrator becomes aware of a secret from Sensei's past, which his mentor promises to reveal when the time is right. When his father falls ill--around the time of the end of Meiji society--the narrator returns home to be closer to his family. As he tries to remain positive around so much sorrow, he begins to miss his Sensei, who is now getting old himself. As his father prepares to leave the mortal world, the narrator receives a lengthy letter from Tokyo, containing his Sensei's story within. As one era merges into the next, he reads of the suffering and mistakes his Sensei experienced and incurred on his path through life, drawing them closer and leaving the narrator with some wisdom to remember him by. Eminently human, \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e is a beloved story of isolation, morality, and conflict from a master of Japanese fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Natsume Sōseki's \u003ci\u003eKokoro\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic work of Japanese literature reimagined for modern readers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302834385269,"sku":"9781513283296","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781513283296_578c511c-b9e9-4738-9b03-9947ee97b304.jpg?v=1786021883"},{"product_id":"9781590175873","title":"The Gate","description":"An NYRB Classics Original\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins of Tokyo. Resigned, following years of exile and misfortune, to the bitter consequences of having married without their families’ consent, and unable to have children of their own, Sōsuke and Oyone find the delicate equilibrium of their household upset by a new obligation to meet the educational expenses of Sōsuke’s brash younger brother. While an unlikely new friendship appears to offer a way out of this bind, it also soon threatens to dredge up a past that could once again force them to flee the capital. Desperate and torn, Sōsuke finally resolves to travel to a remote Zen mountain monastery to see if perhaps there, through meditation, he can find a way out of his predicament. \u003cbr\u003e       \u003cbr\u003eThis moving and deceptively simple story, a melancholy tale shot through with glimmers of joy, beauty, and gentle wit, is an understated masterpiece by one of Japan’s greatest writers. At the end of his life, Natsume Sōseki declared \u003ci\u003eThe Gate,\u003c\/i\u003e originally published in 1910, to be his favorite among all his novels. This new translation captures the oblique grace of the original while correcting numerous errors and omissions that marred the first English version.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305203773813,"sku":"9781590175873","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781590175873_8d9fee6b-c991-4c07-8c92-16fd0e715f5d.jpg?v=1786023061"},{"product_id":"9781529983654","title":"An Undesirable Friend","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom Japan's most famous, classic novelist comes a remarkable gem of wit, irony, and feline observation\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eA stray kitten, catapulted to literary fame loudly observes the world of Meiji Japan in all its absurdity. But he’s not the only cat in the neighbourhood, and as he rallies against the stupidity of human habit, he grows closer to the sophisticated Miss Calico – but he can’t hide his own inadequacies for long.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369015259509,"sku":"9781529983654","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529983654_012c3b81-52ad-4ab1-a6e5-646b70d2e27d.jpg?v=1786023334"},{"product_id":"ten-nights-dreaming","title":"Ten Nights Dreaming","description":"A murderer discovers his true nature from a talking infant, a samurai is frustrated in his attempts to meditate, and a dying man bestows his hat on a friend in these surrealistic short stories. Written by the father of Japanese modernist literature, the dream-like, open-ended tales offer thought-provoking reading. This edition includes a fine new English translation by a noted expert.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481610461557,"sku":"9780486797038","price":8.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780486797038.jpg?v=1786089890"},{"product_id":"the-three-cornered-world","title":"The Three-Cornered World","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn artist on holiday at a mountain hot spring becomes fixated on a mysterious local beauty in this Japanese classic.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature.” – Haruki Murakami\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the foundational classics of modern Japanese literature, this profound, meditative novel about repressed longing and aesthetic rapture shows legendary Japanese writer Natsume Soseki at his very best.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA nameless young artist travels into the mountains, in search of the refreshments of nature. Staying at a small hot spring hotel, he soaks in the water and takes walks nearby, always with the intention of painting - though he never seems to get around to actually doing so. Instead, he finds himself transfixed by the daughter of the hotel owner, an enigmatic young beauty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis preoccupation is neither romantic nor sexual, but aesthetic: why is he so drawn to O-Nami's changeable face, now hostile, now serene? And what prevents him finally putting brush to paper and painting her picture? As the holiday goes on, these two circle each other, pursuing barbed yet friendly conversations about art and despair. And the more he learns about her life - a divorce, a rumoured entanglement with a local priest, a cousin in the army about to travel to the Manchurian front - the more he comes to realise that experiencing O-Nami's beauty to the full requires not just gazing upon her, but understanding her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLushly poetic and stunningly sensitive, \u003ci\u003eThe Three-Cornered World\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterful exploration of the beauty of nature, the artist's temperament, and the hidden springs of human sympathy.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487901753717,"sku":"9781805332503","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805332503.jpg?v=1786355123"},{"product_id":"the-gate","title":"The Gate","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis central masterpiece of modern Japanese literature recounts the decline and fall of a couple's fortunes and a husband's desperate attempt to find spiritual salvation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“A sensitive, skillfully written novel by the most widely read Japanese author of modern times.”  — \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDeemed the “representative modern Japanese novelist” by Haruki Murakami, Natsume Soseki employs humor and irony with masterful precision in this great novel of indecision, widely considered one of the founding texts of modern Japanese letters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHumble clerk Sosuke and his wife Oyone live in a modest house at the bottom of a cliff. Having previously been married to another man, Oyone’s adultery now seems to hang over their marriage like a curse. With no children and Sosuke’s incoming growing ever smaller, they are left with little besides each other and a beautiful painted screen as a souvenir of better days.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen a series of crises rocks their shabby but harmonious domestic existence. Sosuke's brother moves in with them, demanding help to fund his studies; they find themselves forced to sell the screen to buy winter shoes; and Oyone's ex-husband is rumoured to be visiting a wealthy neighbour at the top of the cliff. On top of that, Sosuke’s financial prospects keep getting worse. Beset by reminders of his flaws and failures, Sosuke runs away to a temple, hoping to escape into enlightenment. But can he learn what the monks have to teach him? Will he return to Oyone changed - or not at all?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487902474613,"sku":"9781805332510","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805332510.jpg?v=1786355125"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-natsume-soseki.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}