Natsume Sōseki – författare

'Exactly what you would ask a novel to be' Spectator

In the seaside city of Kamakura, a student is drawn to an enigmatic older man who swims at the same beach. The man becomes his Sensei. Against a backdrop of the rapid modernisation of Japan, their relationship endures - until one day, the young man receives a letter that divulges the full story of his Sensei's past.

One of Japan's most admired and bestselling modern classics, Kokoro is a psychologically rich, delicately drawn meditation on loneliness, desire and duty.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.

Translated by Edwin McClellan.

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) was one of Japan's most prominent novelists of the Meiji Era. After studying in England on a government scholarship, Soseki began a career at Tokyo University as a scholar of English literature before later devoting himself to his writing. He is best known for his works I Am a Cat, Kusamakura, Botchan and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1,000-yen note.

'Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature' Haruki Murakami

'Vastly refreshing ... Soseki doesn't shrink from seeking and finding exquisite pearls of beauty'Guardian

''The greatest Japanese novelist of the modern period'Telegraph

In this Japanese classic, an artist on holiday at a mountain hot spring becomes fixated on a mysterious local beauty.

A young artist travels into the mountains, in search of the refreshments of nature. Staying at a small hot-spring hotel, he soaks in the water and takes walks nearby, always intending to do some painting - though he never seems to get around to it. Instead, he finds himself transfixed by the daughter of the hotel owner, an enigmatic young beauty.

His preoccupation is neither romantic nor sexual, but aesthetic: why is he so drawn to O-Nami's changeable face, now hostile, now serene? And what prevents him finally putting brush to paper and painting her portrait? As the holiday goes on, these two circle each other, pursuing barbed yet friendly conversations about art and despair. And the more the artist learns about the girl's life - a divorce, a rumoured entanglement with a local priest, a cousin in the army about to travel to the Manchurian front - the more he comes to realise that experiencing O-Nami's beauty to the full requires not just gazing upon her, but understanding her.

One of the foundational classics of modern Japanese literature, The Three-Cornered World is a masterful exploration of the beauty of nature, the artist's temperament and the hidden springs of human sympathy.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.

Translated by Alan Turney

Introduced by Damian Flanagan

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) was one of Japan's most prominent novelists of the Meiji Era. After studying in England on a government scholarship, Soseki taught English literature at Tokyo University, but the immense success of his satirical novel I Am a Cat led to his own career as a writer. A highly influential figure viewed as the father of modern Japanese letters, from 1984 until 2004 his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1,000-yen note. Pushkin Press publishes several of his major novels, including Kokoro and The Three-Cornered World.

Alan Turney (1938-2006) was a British translator who also rendered Natsume Soseki's novel Botchan into English.

'Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature' Haruki Murakami

'A sensitive, skilfully written novel by the most widely read Japanese author of modern times'Guardian

'Soseki's prose is so delicate that each page is like looking at a set of dreamy watercolours'Telegraph

Humble clerk Sosuke and his wife Oyone live in a modest house at the bottom of a cliff. Oyone was once married to another man; now her adultery seems to hang over the couple's marriage like a curse. Despite multiple pregnancies, they have no living children; and once affluent, Sosuke finds his income growing ever smaller. They are left with little besides each other and a beautiful painted screen to remind them of better days.

Then a series of crises rocks this shabby but harmonious domestic existence. Sosuke's wastrel brother moves in; the couple find themselves forced to sell the screen to buy winter shoes; and Oyone's ex-husband is rumoured to be visiting a wealthy neighbour at the top of the cliff. Beset by reminders of his flaws and failures, Sosuke runs away to a temple, hoping to escape into enlightenment. But can he learn what the monks have to teach him? Will he return to Oyone changed - at all? One of the great works of the literature of indecision, this is also one of the founding texts of modern Japanese letters.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.

Translated by Francis Mathy

With an introduction by Damian Flanagan

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) was one of Japan's most prominent novelists of the Meiji Era. After studying in England on a government scholarship, Soseki taught English literature at Tokyo University, but the immense success of his satirical novel I Am a Cat led to his own career as a writer. A highly influential figure viewed as the father of modern Japanese letters, from 1984 until 2004 his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1,000-yen note. Pushkin Press publishes several of his major novels, including Kokoro and The Three-Cornered World.