The dilemma in Sôseki’s final poetry: What is literature?

Abstract

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) is perhaps the best-known Japanese novelist of this century, His career as a writer effectively began in 1905 with the serialisation of I Am a Cat while he was still lecturer in English literature at Tokyo Imperial University. He became a full-time writer in 1908 when he joined the Asahi Newspaper. In addition to the fourteen novels for which he is famous, Soseki wrote haiku, Chinese poems, academic papers on literary theory, essays, autobio-graphical sketches, and whimsical fairy tales. He was also kept busy by both the Tokyo and Osaka offices of the Asahi Newspaper, giving public lectures on philosophical, literary, moral and social issues.