Kokoro

"Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature." -- Haruki Murukami

One of the best-selling novels of all time in Japan: a modern classic about love, loneliness and profound social change

A 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.

Left 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.

As 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.

One of the most popular and admired works of Japanese literature, Kokoro is a profound yet intimate picture of a changing Japan, and a timeless meditation on love, honour and friendship.

Natsume Sōseki (1867 - 1916) was a Japanese novelist, widely recognized as one of the most outstanding Japanese writers of the Meiji period. He began writing haikus and literary sketches, and first achieved acclaim for his satirical novel I Am a Cat, published in 1905. Subsequent novels including Sanshiro, Kusamakura and Kokoro established him as an unparalleled novelist of loneliness, isolation and the profound changes to Japanese society that occurred with the end of the Meiji period.

Edwin McClellan (1925-2009) was a British teacher, translator, and scholar of Japanese literature and culture. He was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun, the Kikuchi Kan Prize for literature (1994), and the Noma Prize for literary translation (1995).