What makes it important to the narration is the suicide of General Nogi shortly afterwards! He committed ritual suicide together with his wife referring to the samurai tradition of following one’s lord into death. During the story the death of Emperor Meiji 明治天皇 occurs, who was the symbol of Japan in a period (1867 to 1912) of vast political changes, when Japan was evolving from a „feudal state to a capitalistic and imperialistic power“. The main topic of this novel is the loneliness of man in modern society, the loss of orientation due to modernization processes and the consequences of loosening family structures in Japan. Until today he is a role model for many Japanese authors and his portrait is to be found on the 1000-yen banknote. He resigned because of boredom at his University post and became a fulltime writer in 1907. Natsume Sôseki 夏目 漱石 (1867-1916) was born in Tôkyô and became a professor of English Literature at the Imperial University in the Japanese capital after his work as a governmental scholar in England for three years. The novel was written in 1914 on the heights of the author‘s career. Kokoro こころ means heart, soul or true spirit.
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