Kokoro

Natsume Soseki (1867– 1916) remains one of the most widely read authors in Japan over a century after his death. Born in Tokyo and educated first at the Imperial University and then in England, he spent many years lecturing to Japanese students on English literature. His novels and essays are known for examining the conflicts between old and new, and between East and West.

Edwin McClellan (1925– 2009) was a professor of Japanese literature at Yale University. Born and raised in Japan, he was educated at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and was serving as a fellow of the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago when his celebrated translation of Kokoro was published in 1957. His translation was later selected for the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.