Kokoro and the Agony of the Individual

概要

論文の詳細を見る
In this article I examine changes in the concept of identity as a result of the upheaval in relationships brought about by the Meiji Restoration. These changes are seen as reflected in Soseki's novel Kokoro. I discuss two of the most important concepts of modern Japanese, those of individual (個人 kojin) and society (社会 shakai), both of which were introduced under the influence of the Meiji intelligentsia's attempts to create a new Japan following the European model. These concepts, along with many others, reflect the tendency of Meiji intellectuals to discard the traditional Japanese value systems, where the group, and not the individual, was the minimal unit of society. The preoccupation with the individual and his own inner world is reflected in Natsume Soseki's Kokoro. The novel is pervaded by a feeling of confusion between loyalty to the old values of a dying era and lack of attachment towards a new and materialistic world.