author of "I Am a Cat" and "Kokoro

Tracing the Footsteps of Natsume Soseki, Author of “I Am a Cat” and “Kokoro” Today, we will introduce the life of Natsume Soseki and the Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum, which is about a 10 to 15-minute walk from Kagurazaka Station on the Tokyo Metro. The Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum is built on the site where the great literary figure Natsume Soseki, known worldwide for works such as “I Am a Cat” and “Kokoro,” lived and wrote. The museum opened on September 24, 2017, marking the 150th anniversary of Soseki’s birth. Soseki and Shinjuku Ward (Waseda/Kagurazaka) The Shinjuku ward, where Soseki was born, raised, and spent his final days, is rich with places connected to his life. The name of the area where Soseki was born, Kikuicho, Shinjuku, was named by Soseki’s father, Naokatsu Natsume, who was the headman of the area at the time. The name derives from the Natsume family’s crest, “a chrysanthemum in a well frame.” Similarly, a slope near Soseki’s birthplace was named “Natsume-zaka” after the family. Soseki’s novels and essays frequently mention names of places in Shinjuku, and temples and shrines still found in the ward appear in his works. Soseki’s diaries and letters record hisread moreWalk from Kagurazaka to the Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum in Shinjuku

15May, 20242024年5月12日

Experience

Did you know that Natsume Soseki, author of “I Am a Cat” and “Kokoro,” had deep ties to Kagurazaka?

By ninjakotan

Did you know that Natsume Soseki, author of “I Am a Cat” and “Kokoro,” had deep ties to Kagurazaka? Natsume Soseki’s Deep Connections to Kagurazaka Kagurazaka is known as a cultural city where many literary giants have lived. Figures like Ozaki Koyo, Natsume Soseki, and Tsubouchi Shoyo have resided here, giving the area a reputation as the birthplace of modern Japanese literature. Some claims place the origins of modern Japanese literature in Hongo, where Tsubouchi Shoyo, Futabatei Shimei, Higuchi Ichiyo, and Ishikawa Takuboku lived. Coincidentally, I lived in Hongo before moving to Kagurazaka. This post will focus on Natsume Soseki’s deep connections to Kagurazaka. Natsume Soseki (born Natsume Kinnosuke) was born in February 1867 in Waseda (then known as Ushigome Babashita, now Kikui-cho in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo). This location is near the current Waseda Station and Anahachimangu Shrine. His father, Naokatsu, was a community leader who governed the area from Edo Ushigome to Takadanobaba. After graduating from the English department of the Imperial University (later Tokyo Imperial University, now the University of Tokyo), Soseki worked as a high school teacher in Matsuyama and a professor in Kumamoto before studying in England. Upon returning from England, he briefly livedread moreDid you know that Natsume Soseki, author of “I Am a Cat” and “Kokoro,” had deep ties to Kagurazaka?