夏目漱石
Natsume Sōseki
1867–1916
Widely regarded as the foundational figure of modern Japanese literature, this Tokyo-born novelist trained as a scholar of English literature before turning to fiction in his late thirties. His writing pairs wry humor with a deep unease about the costs of Japan's rapid modernization, tracing lonely intellectuals caught between old loyalties and new freedoms. Early satirical works like Wagahai wa Neko de Aru and Botchan gave way to the searching psychological novels of his maturity, including Kokoro, Sanshiro, and the unfinished Meian. Long featured on the thousand-yen note and required reading in schools, he shaped generations of writers with his clear, contemplative prose and his unflinching attention to the modern self.
