Reflections in a Glass Door: Memory and Melancholy in the Personal Writing of Natsume Soseki by Marvin Marcus
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Overview: Much has been written about Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916), one of Japan’s most celebrated writers. Known primarily for his novels, he also published a large and diverse body of short personal writings (shōhin) that have long lived in the shadow of his fictional works. The essays, which appeared in the Asahi shinbun between 1907 and 1917, comprise a fascinating autobiographical mosaic, while capturing the spirit of the Meiji era and the birch of modern Japan. In Reflections in a Glass Door, Marvin Marcus introduces readers to a rich sampling of Sōseki’s shōhin. The writer revisits his Tokyo childhood, recalling family, friends, and colleagues and musing wistfully on the transformation of his city and its old neighborhoods. He painfully recounts his two years in London, where he immersed himself in literary research even as he struggled with severe depression. A chronic stomach ailment causes Sōseki to reflect on his own mortality and what he saw as the spiritual afflictions of modern Japanese: rampant egocentrism and materialism.
Genre: Non-Fiction: Biographies
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