"A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action..." --The New Yorker Written from 1904 through 1906, Soseki Natsume's comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirizes the foolishness of upper-middle-class Japanese society during the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a world-weary stray kitten who comments on the follies and foibles of the people around him. A classic of Japanese literature, I Am a Cat is one of Soseki's best-known novels. Considered by many as the most significant writer in modern Japanese history, Soseki's I Am a Cat is a classic novel sure to be enjoyed for years to come.

A stirring and insightful novel from an author Japan Quarterly calls "a Japanese writer of genius."From beloved author Soseki Natsume,And Then tells the story of Daisuke, a man in his twenties who is struggling with his personal purpose and identity as well as the changing social landscape of Meiji-era Japan. As Japan enters the 20th Century, ancient customs give way to Western ideals, and Daisuke works to resolve his feelings of disconnection and abandonment during this time of change. Thanks to his father's wealth, Daisuke has the luxury of having time to develop his philosophies and ruminate on their meaning while remaining intellectually aloof from traditional Japanese culture and the demands of growing industrialization. Daisuke's life takes an unexpected turn when he is reunited with his college friend and his sickly wife. At first, Daisuke's stoicism allows him to act according to his intellect, but his intellectual fortress begins to show its vulnerabilities as his emotions start to hold greater sway over his inner life. Daisuke must now weigh his choices in a culture that has always operated on the razor's edge of societal obligation and personal freedom. And Then is a powerful novel of an individual swept up in the floods of change.

Hailed by "The New Yorker "as "rich in understanding and insight," "Kokoro "-- "the heart of things" -- is the work of one of Japan's most popular authors. This thought-provoking trilogy of stories explores the very essence of loneliness and stands as a stirring introduction to modern Japanese literature.

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In Soseki Natsume's 1906 novel Botchan, the title character moves from the modern Tokyo to the more traditional city of Matsuyama to pursue a position teaching mathematics. Botchan interacts with a scheming colleague and mischievous students, and the reader questions, throughout the novel, whether he will stay true to his moral self or become corrupted by his fellow teacher. The novel alludes to an increasing westernization of Japan, and is an engaging foray into the consequences of such a change.

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) was the foremost Japanese novelist of the twentieth century, known for such highly acclaimed works as "Kokoro," "Sanshiro," and "I Am a Cat." Yet he began his career as a literary theorist and scholar of English literature. In 1907, he published "Theory of Literature," a remarkably forward-thinking attempt to understand how and why we read. The text anticipates by decades the ideas and concepts of formalism, structuralism, reader-response theory, and postcolonialism, as well as cognitive approaches to literature that are only now gaining traction.

Employing the cutting-edge approaches of contemporary psychology and sociology, Soseki created a model for studying the conscious experience of reading literature as well as a theory for how the process changes over time and across cultures. Along with "Theory of Literature," this volume reproduces a later series of lectures and essays in which Soseki continued to develop his theories. By insisting that literary taste is socially and historically determined, Soseki was able to challenge the superiority of the Western canon, and by grounding his theory in scientific knowledge, he was able to claim a universal validity.

From Wikipedia: Natsume Soseki (a c (r) ae cu, February 9, 1867 - December 9, 1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke (a c (r) ea'a'iae), is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period (1868-1912). He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1000 yen note.

From Wikipedia: Kusamakura (eieaeu* lit. grass pillow) is a Japanese novel published in 1906 by Natsume Soseki. It tells the story of an artist who retreats to the mountains where he stays at a remote, almost deserted hotel. There he becomes intrigued by the mysterious hostess, O-Nami, who reminds him of John Millais' painting Ophelia.

From Wikipedia: Kokoro (a "aCuaCi or a "a "aCi) is a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Soseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun. While the title literally means "heart", the word contains shades of meaning, and can be translated as "the heart of things" or "feeling". The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls "Sensei" (or teacher). It continues the theme of isolation developed in Soseki's immediately preceding works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame. Other important themes in the novel include the changing times (particularly the modernization of Japan in the Meiji era), the changing roles and ideals of women, and intergenerational change in values, the role of family, the importance of the self versus the group, the cost of weakness, and identity.

From Wikipedia: I Am a Cat (a e (c)a Zci"a a CaCi Wagahai wa neko de aru) is a satirical novel written in 1905-1906 by Natsume Soseki, about Japanese society during the Meiji Period; particularly, the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions, and the aping of Western customs. Soseki's original title, Wagahai wa neko de aru, uses very high register phrases more appropriate to a nobleman, conveying a grandiloquence and self-importance intended to sound ironic, since the speaker is a house cat. The book was first published in ten installments in the literary journal Hototogisu. At first, Soseki intended only to write the short story that constitutes the first chapter of I Am a Cat. However, Takahama Kyoshi, one of the editors of Hototogisu, persuaded Soseki to serialize the work, which evolved stylistically as the installments progressed. Nearly all of the stories can stand alone as a discrete work.

From Wikipedia: Botchan (auea GBPa !aCEaC") is a novel written by Natsume Soseki in 1906. It is considered to be one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by most Japanese during their childhood. The central theme of the story is morality.

From Wikipedia: I Am a Cat (a e (c)a Zci"a a CaCi Wagahai wa neko de aru) is a satirical novel written in 1905-1906 by Natsume Soseki, about Japanese society during the Meiji Period; particularly, the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions, and the aping of Western customs. Soseki's original title, Wagahai wa neko de aru, uses very high register phrases more appropriate to a nobleman, conveying a grandiloquence and self-importance intended to sound ironic, since the speaker is a house cat. The book was first published in ten installments in the literary journal Hototogisu. At first, Soseki intended only to write the short story that constitutes the first chapter of I Am a Cat. However, Takahama Kyoshi, one of the editors of Hototogisu, persuaded Soseki to serialize the work, which evolved stylistically as the installments progressed. Nearly all of the stories can stand alone as a discrete work.

From Wikipedia: I Am a Cat (a e (c)a Zci"a a CaCi Wagahai wa neko de aru) is a satirical novel written in 1905-1906 by Natsume Soseki, about Japanese society during the Meiji Period; particularly, the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions, and the aping of Western customs. Soseki's original title, Wagahai wa neko de aru, uses very high register phrases more appropriate to a nobleman, conveying a grandiloquence and self-importance intended to sound ironic, since the speaker is a house cat. The book was first published in ten installments in the literary journal Hototogisu. At first, Soseki intended only to write the short story that constitutes the first chapter of I Am a Cat. However, Takahama Kyoshi, one of the editors of Hototogisu, persuaded Soseki to serialize the work, which evolved stylistically as the installments progressed. Nearly all of the stories can stand alone as a discrete work.