The heart and the self in Natsume Soseki's Kokoro

Abstract

As part of the first generation of Meiji Japan’s modern intellectuals, Natsume Soseki not only witnessed his country’s difficult transition into modernity but was directly involved in modern Japan’s nation building efforts, which included the emphasis on education as a vital ingredient towards the country’s ideal of Bunmei Kaika (‘Civilization and Enlightenment’). Driven by a desire to contribute to his nation and society, the idealistic young Soseki took up English Literature in Tokyo University with a strong belief that “the learning of the entire world was needed before modern, individualistic thought could take root in Japan”(Keene, 307). Soseki strongly believed that education is important for the self-cultivation of the modern individual and “was convinced that Western thought, by dispelling the ignorance of the past, would foster the innate virtues of Japanese civilization” (Keene, 308). This early idealism later gave way to a sense of disillusionment as his desolate time in London, spent in isolation, opened up his eyes to the limits of modern Enlightenment ideals.