Tuesday, October 16, 2012

NOTES ON SŌSEKI. #1


NOTES ON SŌSEKI. #1



When I was asked who I thought was Japan’s greatest novelist, I did not even hesitate to answer, “Natsume Sōseki, of course.” Now, understand that the person asking my opinion was himself Japanese; however, I have never had an American ask me that question. Indeed, my experience has been that very few Americans, and but a few more Europeans, have ever heard the name “Sōseki” or know anything about his body of work. If you have never read any of his novels, even though you may have heard one or two titles; for example Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (吾輩は猫である) or as it is known in English, I Am a Cat, or the darker Kokoro: Sensei no Isho (心 先生の遺書), commonly referred to in the West as Sensei’s Testament or even more generally, Sensei and I.
It is neither my intention nor purpose to write Sōseki’s biography here, although from time to time I plan to touch on events or aspects of his life, particularly as they acted as catalysts in his writing and his theory of literature. I will say briefly, just so you know, that his real name, his birth name was Natsume Kinnosuke (夏目 金之助) and he was born on February 9, 1867). He is widely regarded as the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji Era (1868 – 1912. He was also a scholar of English literature and a composer of haiku, Japanese short poems of 5-7-5 syllables. His portrait appeared on the front of the 1000 en note, and in Japan, although he died on December 9, 1916), he is still considered the greatest writer in Modern Japanese history, having had a profound effect on almost every modern Japanese writer of importance.
After much discussion, really all of it enthusiastic, we have decided to undertake what will no doubt prove to be a long-term project, that being to translate all of Sōseki’s novels and a fair portion of his poetry and essays, and to present them to new, modern Western readers. That is not to say that those of his works that have been translated into English are not good; it is simply that we feel that they may be made better, not only to attract new readers, but to provide those readers with insights into the Meiji Japan of Sōseki, his own experiences, his views, his prejudices, to make more apparent his often hidden wit, as well as to entertain the them and just perhaps, bring about thought and even introspection.
If you have a taste for the sarcastic, the ironic, the sardonic, if you enjoy dry wit, then I would recommend to you I Am a Cat, a novel originally published as a serial, then in three volumes, and then consolidated into one, in which a haughtily disdainful or even contemptuous, feline narrator (“As of yet I have no name.”) describes and comments upon the lives of more than a few middle-class Japanese people (and cats) including Kushami Chinno (珍野苦沙弥), Mr. Sneeze , the owner of the “cat with no name,” as well as his family; Mr. Sneeze’s annoyingly pretentions friend Meitei (迷亭), otherwise known as Waverhouse; and Avalon Coldmoon (Mizushima Kangetsu, (水島寒月), a young, love-struck scholar. Even if you know nothing about Meiji Japan, you will enjoy the book; and the more you do know about Japan and that period of its history, the more you are likely to have fun with it.
If you prefer things darker, cerebral, and ironic, then I would suggest Kokoro. Written in 1914, it too was first published as a serial in the Aasahi Shinbun newspaper. The word “kokoro” translates literally as “heart” but it can also refer to “the heart of things” or to “feelings. The story deals with the friendship (albeit sometimes distant), between a young man and an older man he calls “Sensei” or “teacher” at a time when Japan was transitioning to the modern era and touches on such topics as egoism, guilt, and shame, as well as the ideals and roles of Japanese women at that time, the changes in values from one generation to another, the role of family, the importance of self rather than the group, the price of weakness, and one’s own identity.
We hope you will pick up and enjoy either or both of these novels while we roll up our collective sleeves and get to translating.