Reading Order
KokoroSōseki Kokoro Reading Order
Natsume Sōseki's Kokoro (1914) is the central novel of the Meiji period and one of the most profound Japanese novels ever written — the story of a young man's friendship with an older man he calls Sensei, and the secret that Sensei has carried for decades. The novel's title means 'heart' or 'the heart of things,' and its subject is the alienation of the modern Japanese individual — a person formed by the Confucian tradition of loyalty and self-sacrifice who has been confronted by the Western values of individualism and freedom and can resolve the contradiction only through self-destruction. Kokoro is organized in three parts: the young man's encounters with Sensei in Tokyo, his return to his dying father in the countryside, and Sensei's confessional letter, which arrives after his death.
Where to start
Kokoro
Complete Kokoro Book List
- 1Buy
Kokoro
Natsume Sōseki·1914·Sōseki's most celebrated and most psychologically concentrated novel — the young man and Sensei; organized in three parts and building to one of the most devastating final sections in Japanese literature - 2Buy
I Am a Cat
Natsume Sōseki·1906·Sōseki's debut novel — narrated by a cat observing the household of a Japanese teacher; satirical and comic, the opposite of Kokoro in tone but showing the full range of Sōseki's genius - 3Buy
Botchan
Natsume Sōseki·1906·The companion in Sōseki's satirical mode — a young Tokyo man teaching in a provincial school; funny, accessible, and enormously popular in Japan; the best starting point for most readers - 4Buy
Sanshiro
Natsume Sōseki·1908·The first of Sōseki's trilogy about love and ambition — a young man from the provinces arriving in Tokyo; more accessible than Kokoro and a good introduction to the Meiji world Sōseki inhabited
Kokoro — Frequently Asked Questions
What order should I read Sōseki in?
For most readers: start with Botchan or I Am a Cat if you want accessible, satirical Sōseki; go directly to Kokoro if you want his most psychologically concentrated work. Kokoro rewards reading after Botchan because you understand better what Sōseki is doing when he shifts from comedy to tragedy. The trilogy Sanshiro, And Then, and The Gate covers a young man's development across three phases and is best read in order.
Why does Sensei kill himself at the end of Kokoro?
Sensei kills himself on the day of the Emperor Meiji's funeral, following the example of General Nogi, who committed ritual suicide (junshi) in loyalty to the emperor. His suicide is both personal (he has carried guilt for decades for his role in his friend K.'s death) and cultural (he belongs to the Meiji generation whose values he cannot reconcile with the modern individualism he has adopted). His suicide is an act of belonging to a world that no longer exists.
What is Kokoro about?
Kokoro is narrated by a young student who befriends an older, enigmatic man he calls Sensei during summer visits to the seaside. Sensei lives in a state of melancholy isolation with his wife, refuses to use his education, and speaks enigmatically about the impossibility of trusting human nature. When the narrator returns to his dying father, Sensei sends him a long letter explaining his past: the story of his friend K., who loved the same woman Sensei loved, and whose death Sensei feels responsible for.
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