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