Male Friendship in Modern Japanese Novel: Natsume Sôseki’s <i>Kokoro</i> (1914)

Abstract This article seeks to re-read and reassess the significance of the famous novel Kokoro by Natsume Sôseki (1867-1916), one of the main figures of Japanese modern literature. The novel is about two consecutive stories of friendship. A young student establishes friendship with an older man, the Master, who himself experienced a very strong friendship with a young man from the same village in his youth, until a love affair tragically separated them. We consider the ambiguous links, contrasts, and parallels between the different bonds in the novel, issues of generation gaps, relationships with the family, philosophical loneliness, and the belittling of women in the portrayal of friendship in the novel.