CHAPTER V

TRADITION, ORDER AND SOCIAL DISSENT

IN SOSEKI'S WRITINGS

CHAPTER V

TRADITION, ORDER AND SOCIAL DISSENT

IN SOSEKI'S WRITINGS

Soseki's teacher James Murdoch at the Tokyo University

used to call him 'a man with moral backbone I , when Soseki

was still in his early twenties. 1 He was a moralist by

conviction and practice. It lS best revealed in the stand

he took against the Doctorate of Literature conferred on him

by the Japanese Government. He wrote:

If excessive importance is given to this degree system, it may create a false impression among the people that unless one holds a doctorate, he is not a scholar and resultantly, scholarship will become a monopoly of a handful of doctors. And if a few privileged academic aristocrats take control of learning and scholarship, those left out of it will be neglected. Such a trend will really be deplorable .... I declined to accept the degree because I am opposed to it from all angles. 2

And to a disciple who wrote to him regarding the same lssue,

he replied as under:

In a hundred years, hundreds of Ph.D's will turn into clay. So will thousands of professions. My ambition is to l~ave my art to a hundred generations to come.

Without the moralist and idealist man that Soseki was,

1 Natsume Soseki, Yo" in Natsume p.26.

"Hakushi Mondai to Murdoch Sensei to Soseki Zenshu, v01.10 (Tokyo, 1979),

2 Yu Beongcheon, Natsume Soseki (New York, 1969), p.55.

3 ibid, p.166.

159

Soseki the intellectual would not have been born. As seen

earlier, he underwent considerable spiritual and physical

anguish all his life because of his powerful mor?l thrust,

trying to come to terms with himself and the society that

was undergoing drastic social and spiritual changes.

However, unable to develop an organic relationship with the

society, which moved in the counter direction he had

envisaged, he increasingly developed a sense of detachment

remaining a recluse-aloof from the society, except for his

association with a small circle of private friends and

disciples. Nonetheless, the fusion of East and West,

pursuit of truth and pure objectivity of art re~ained the

ideals that he pursued until death. He created a small

world of his own in his study room where he devoted himself

to erudition and creative writing and at the same time

subjected Japanese society, its traditions, modern culture

and psychology of modern man to critical examinations, and

sought answers to life's vicissitudes as well as to

contemporary problems.

philosophy was more

However, being an artist,

implicit than explicit, as

his

he

endeavoured to analyse the vagaries of human nature in his

novels. But at the same time, most of the maJor social

problems provided a backdrop to all his works and an in­

depth study reveals the rich thought that abounds in them.

Here some of the works that represent the best in his social

160

dissent namely Sanshiro and Sosekara in fiction, his public

lectures, diaries, and other short critical writings have

been taken up. Further, instead of analysing each of these

works separately, some broad themes have been identified and

the treatment of each of them has been discussed

thematically.

ON MODERNIZATION

As described earlier, the problem of modernization was

the most recurring theme in Soseki's novels. Actually it

provided the backdrop for each of his novels and in his

diaries, essays as well as lectures, he invariably discussed

this problem, since most of the social problems of the day,

directly or indirectly emanated from it. It was a very

natural outgrowth of the intellectually challenging years of

Meiji that his generation, which had education in Japanese

tradition, but had direct exposure to the West, and faced

the confusions and uncertainties of a rapidly changing

society, experienced. This was, however, sufficient reason

for him to be either a conservative or a radical like the

majority, but since he regarded modernization to be

inevitable, he tried to seek a resolution of the problem ln

the context of his own society. In that he chose the middle

course, he was distinctly different from the rest., with the

possible exception of Ogai.

161

Firstly, Soseki disapproved of Japan's hurried march

towards modernity in a short span of time, skipping

centuries of trial and error by the West. For instance, the

following entry in his diary when in England in 1901, .

expresses his attitude:

It is said that Japan woke up from her slumber over 30 years ago. It was, however, like waking up with a spring shocked by the fire alarm. It was not real awakening. It was rather a panic under which we tried to absorb everything Western but without proper time to digest them. Unless Japan really wakes up, it cannot hope to progress. 4

And in one of his most celebrated speeches Gendai Nihon

no Kaika (The Enlightenment of Modern Japan) delivered at

Wakayama in August 1911, he made a searching analysis of the

problem, wherein he warned of the dangerous consequences of

such anachronistic modernization, and opined that

enlightenment is not synonymous with westernization, and

Japan would do well to consider carefully her approach to

modernization and try and have natural development. He

said:

In the West, enlightenment was from within, whereas Japan's modern enlightenment has been from without. This 'enlightenment from within' implies that it was a natural development like the blooming of flowers and the 'enlightenment from without' signifies the enlightenment carried out under external stimulus. Of course Japan since ancient times has not necessarily developed only through her own powers. There was a time-when

4 Natsume Soseki, n.1, pp.342-3.

162

Japan was under considerable Chinese and Korean influence. However, since a long time was taken to absorb these foreign cultures in a calculated manner, it can be called the 'change from within .... ' It would be appropriate to say that the powerful impact of the Western culture that forced Japan to wake up from its long slumber of over 200 years was unprecedented. From thErE on Japan's enlightenment became quite complex since the impetus was so great. As a result, what had been achieved internally lost its force and vigour and was pushed into a corner. Further Japan's advance is not a steady movement on a firm ground but one of big leaps in the air. Before people are actually able to grasp the characteristics of a thing, they are told to discard it. It is like removing the dishes from the table before one has tasted them and confirmed what has been served. People who are subject to such enlightenment are bound to feel some sort of vacuum within them and also some sort of discontentment and insecurity. To be content with such modernization is falsehood and being superficial.... It lS really ignominious to see these artificial imitations. It is not enlightenment. It is something trivial and not even a glimpse of real enlightenment .... The question is how long we are going to behave like a child being carried by an adult on the back? Why can't we try to walk ourselves? I think it is quite possible but the problem is that we are trying to achieve in ten years what was achieved by the West in hundred years. Do we have the capability and stamina for that? Most of us are bound to have nervous breakdown under these circumstances. Our gains are very few compared to ancient times. We are having more anxieties and intense struggle for survival. If this is the cost for such mechanical and superficial imitation, I feel pity for the Japanese. I don't see any way out. I just deplore this tragic situation. . .. I do not find an answer as to how to extricate ourselves from this deplorable situation we find ourselves in. I only suggest that we should have natural development to the maximu~ ~ossible extent so that we do not turn neurotlC.

5 ibid I pp.66-72.

163

If on one hand, Soseki condemned uncritical adoption of

things Western, on the other, he considered it equally

irrational to remain tied to the native traditions or

attempt to revert back to the past, as he believed that the

process of modernization was irreversible.

We had to pay a heavy price for borrowing the materialistic culture of the West. Everything even our etiquette, manners, customs and eating habits had to face corrosion.... The outcome of all this was that we came to regard that we were no match for the West and that we must learn everything from the West and tend to copy them .... When things reach such a situation, there is bound to be a reactionary trend. Ultra-nationalism that occurred temporarily was also a reaction against it. This ultranationalistic trend was, however, based on the notion of the revival of the past .... The present day circumstances do not permit so and that is why although lot of clamor was made about ultranationalism, it proved ineffective. 6

Soseki in his critical essay Sosakka no Taido (Attitude of "

Fiction Writers) highlighted another important feature of

modernization namely, sciences and manners and customs need

to be seen in different perspectives, and that while copylng

of sciences is quite advisable, that of manners and customs

of an alien culture is unwarranted and must be avoided. He

elaborated:

Human beings have the inborn tendency to copy others and it is quite justified too. Rather it is very convenient as one can just copy th~ end

6 Natsume Soseki, Senqo Bunkai no Susei (Literary Trends in the Post-War (Russo-Japanese war) Years), ibid, pp.2S9-60.

164

result and leave out the unnecessary cumbersome procedures ....

Science is something which moves in a fixed direction and the path is same for all and it is most wise to follow the course of one's predecessor and as fast as possible since one's destination is fixed and known. Imitation of manners, customs and emotions, is, however, a different proposition altogether. Manners, customs and emotions that are indigenous to the west are not the only manners and customs and hence cannot serve as the standard for others. 7

In his other speech Moho to Dokuritsu (Imitation and

Independence) delivered in 1913, he called upon the youth to

be original and independent in thinking and approach towards

the west and try to rediscover forgotten values and reshape

them according to the needs of changing times. Although

Soseki strongly condemned militarism in at least two of his

other works, for once to drive home his argument, he hailed

the efforts of the army in the Russo-Japanese war and

attributed Japanese victory to the 'originality' shown by

the Japanese army and implored the Japanese to show similar

independent approach in other fields too.

We Japanese have allowed ourselves to copy others. And as things stand today we are just imitating the West. It is because western nations are a little more advanced than us. It is like youth, like you, who tend to copy a senior whom they think to be superior than them and tend to copy him. They believe that they must follow the same path as their seniors. Similarly Japan also tends to imitate the West when it comes face to face

7 Natsume Soseki, Sosakka no Taido (Natsume Soseki Zenshu), vol.20 (Tokyo, 1952), pp.87-88.

165

with it. However, instead of simply copying the West, we should try to be original and independent. The time has already come for it or is just round the corner. Russo-Japanese war was very original and an independent effort on the part of our army. The time has come when we should show it to the West that we are quite

8 independent in arts too ....

Elsewhere he writes:

Japanese people who are so obsessed with the West that they regard there is no better place than the West and no better people than the Westerners, are looking down upon their own country. These people have forgotten about their indebtedness to China after which they modelled not only their arts like literature and music but also politics and religion. But now people think that it is enough if they can speak English or dance like the Westerners. I for one am thoroughly displeased with this tendency.9

In sum, the essence of Soseki's approach was that Japan

must march with the times and adopt the newest techniques,

if she was to keep abreast with the rest of the' civilized

world. But neither blind imitation of the West nor the

nativist reaction was the solution to the problem. He held

that each country and each community has its own peculiar

culture and special needs. Japan must, therefore, reshape

ancient ideals to suit its own requirements. For that the

Japanese must show restraint with regard to their tendency

to emulate West in all respects, and must weigh the merits

8 Natsume Soseki, Moho to Dokuritsu (Imit~tion and Independence), n.1, pp.247-9.

9 Tada Yukei, Natsume Soseki (Tokyo, 1963), p.240.

166

and demerits of a thing before discarding or adopting it and

a clear distinction between sciences and culture must be

made. Further, he implored the Japanese to develop

confidence in themselves and their heritage so as t-r. rprTa;n .... _ ___ ~ -'-J.

the initiative, self respect and dignity.

ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL OPPRESSION OF MODERNIZATION

While In his speeches and essays, Soseki discussed the

problem of modernization squarely, in his works of fiction,

where this problem provided the backdrop, he was invariably

discussing the evils of modernity caused by rapid

westernization. Actually his art was born out of this

fundamental question namely, what should be the proper mode

of life for the modern man in the newly emerging social

order? As seen in an earlier chapter on Soseki, he himself

confronted literary and cultural dilemmas during __ is entire

career and underwent intense personal crisis in search for

an understanding of himself and his role in society and on

more than one occasion, he identified his anxieties with the

problems of the age. For instance, the following excerpt

from a letter written to a close friend in 1906 perhaps best

expresses his feelings.

All those who do not have nervious breakdown under the present situation are either rich fools or uneducated, unconscientious people or nincompoops who are quite happy with the existing state of

167

affairs in the twentieth century.10 In almost all his works, Soseki tried to portray the

toll that modernization and rapidly changing social and

moral values took of the minds of educated people. His

leading characters such as Botchan, Sanshiro, Daisuke ln

Sorekara, Sosuke in Mon, rchiro in Higansugi made, Sensei in

Kokoro, Kenzo in Michikusa and Tsuda in Meian are all

'dilettante intellectuals' who have a vacuum in their

spiritual life caused by the clash between the old and the

new and are neither successful in their professional career

nor as members of society. For instance, Soseki in Sorekara

attributes Daisuke' s 'nil admirari' to the contemporary

social conditions.

I don't work and it is not my fault. It is due to the society that I don't work. Or to put it ln somewhat exaggerated terms it is because the relationship between Japan and the West is no good. Firstly, there is no other country with s~ch a bad case of beggar's twitch. When do you think all these debts can be paid off? Oh! the foreign currency bonds might get paid but they aren't the only debts. The fact is Japan can't get along without borrowing from the West. Yet it poses as a first class power. And it's straining to join the ranks of the first-class power everywhere and cheats on what's behind. It's like the frog that tried to swallow the bull. See, Japan's belly is bursting. And see the consequences are reflected in each of us as individuals. A people so oppressed by the· West have no mental leisure. They can't do anything worthwhile. They receive the education that's stripped to the bare bone, and they are driven with their noses to the grindstone until they are

10 Natsume Soseki, n.l, p.343.

168

dizzy - that's why they all end up with nervous breakdown. Try talking to them and they are usually stupid. They haven't thought about a thing beyond themselves, that day, that very instant. Thev are too exhausted to think about anything else; it's not their fault. Unfortunately, exhaustion of the spirit and deterioration of the body come hand in hand. And that's not all. The decline of morality has set in too. Look where you will in this country, you won't find one square inch of brightness. It's all pitch black .... Of course, if Japanese society were in sound spiritual, moral and physical health - if i~ were just in all-round good health, then I'd still be talented and promising, don't you see? Because then there would be plenty of incentive to shake me out of my inclination to just loaf. But as things stand, it's no good. 11

Excluding his first two light hearted novels, all his

novels were somber and probed the psychological problems of

the modern man caused by rapid changes. It is for the same

reason that Soseki 1S regarded as the most mature

psychological fiction writer of modern Japan.

ON INDIVIDUALISM VS STATISM

Soseki, greatly influenced by the liberal traditions of

the West, believed that the individual finds fulfilment only

when he is autonomous. He, therefore, emphasized on

absolute freedom and dignity of the individual and fought

vehemently against all external interference with his

11 Soseki, Ntsume, Sorekara, trans. Norma Moore Field, And Then (Tokyo, 1978), pp.72-73.

169

personal freedom. Whether it was invitation by the then

Prime Minister Saionji to attend a gathering of leading

scholars and literary figures in 1907, or the Taiyo Gold Cup

offered to him for being the most popular writer in 1909, or

the Doctor of Letters degree conferred on him by the

Government in 1911, he declined them all firmly. Specially

when a controversy raged over his declining of the Doctorate

of Literature, he said that "it is a violation of the

individual's rights to force an honour on someone without

regard for his personal feelings".

However, the same Soseki deprecated self centred egolsm

and liberal individualism in many of his works and regarded

them as the biggest evils of modern western civilization.

For instance, he writes ln Sorekara:

Modern society was nothing more than an aggregate of isolated individuals. The earth stretched boundlessly, but the instant houses were built upon it, it became fragmented. The people inside the houses became fragmented too. Civilization took the collective we and transformed it into isolated individuals .... Daisuke had yet to meet the individual who, as he stood groaning beneath the oppression of occidental civilization in the seething arena of the struggle for survival'i was still able to shed genuine tears for another.' 2

Elsewhere he writes about the basic difference between the

Western and Japanese value systems thus:

It may well be that Western civilization is dynamic and progressive. But it is a civilization

12 ibid, pp.101-2.

170

constructed by men who are destined to live their lives in frustration. In Japanese civilization, however, one does not seek comfort in change outside oneself. Its greatest difference from western civilization lies in its tenet that external things cannot be changed fundamentally. For example, we do not, as do chose of the West, try to change the relationship between parenes and children simply because we find that it is not entirely pleasing to us. We try to find pea~e of mind by accepting the fact that the relationship between parents and children cannot be changed. Similarly we have accepted the relationship between husbands and wives, between lords and

. db' d 13 retalners an etween samural an commoners ....

Obviously, Soseki was obliquely detesting the individual

centered morality in the urban middle class under the

influence of the West that was undermining the traditional

paternal authority and threatening the Ie (family) system,

the cornerstone of Japanese value system. For instance, he

lamented the emergence of similar tendencies ·among the

Japanese youth under the influence of the West in Sanshiro

as under:

Preset day students, unlike our days, have too strong sense of egoism which is deplorable. In our times, everything was done considering others first - whether it affected a third person, one's own parents or the society. However, with the change in the nature of the society, self became the standard for everything which resulted in . 14 extreme egolsm ....

He attributed all this to the Japanese not understanding the

13 Quoted in Edwin McCleJlan, Two Japanese Novelists: Soseki and Toson (Tokyo, 1969), pp.17-18.

14 Natsume Soseki, Sanshiro (Tokyo, 1973), p.125.

171

meaning of individualism in the true sense. It was In his

speech Watakushi no Kojinshugi (My Individualism), delivered

in November 1914, that Soseki first elaborated his brand of

individualism, which he defined as Jiko-honi or to be more

preclse, individualism based on the strength of character.

He expounded thus:

When the English have some complaint, they often stage protest demonstrations. The government, however, never interferes but takes on an attitude of silent disinterest. The demonstrators, meanwhile, are fully appreciative of this and never engage in reckless activities that will embarrass the government. In general, the English temperament cherishes liberty that does not depart from the concept of duty.

I am not suggesting that we take England as a model. I simply believe that freedom without a sense of duty is not true freedom, for such self­indulgence freedom cannot exist in society. And if, for a moment, it did, it would quickly be expelled, stamped out by others .... 15

Soseki defined his brand of individualism as 'ethical', as

opposed to 'liberal individualism' and stressed that the

necessary prerequisites for it are:

i) Simultaneously with developing one's own

personality, one individual must also esteem the existence

of others;

ii) if one wishes to exerClse power, one must recognlze

the obligations that go with it and;

iii) if one wishes to display wealth, one must also

15 Natsume Soseki, n.l, pp.40-4l.

172

accept the responsibility that accompanles it.

He further added that this ethical individualism was neither

harmful for the society nor In contravention. with the

Japanese tradition of working in harmony with others as was

popularly believed and all those who were opposed to

individualism in toto were merely interpreting it in a

narrow sense. He stated:

Many people seem to think of individualism as something opposed to even destructive of nationalism. But individualism in no way justified such a misguided, illogical interpretation .... Some people nowadays are spreading the idea - and they believe it - that Japan cannot survive unless she is entirely nationalistic. Many of them go as far as to assert that our nation will perish unless· this terrible 'individualism' is stamped out .. What utter nonsense! All of us are in fact nationalists, cosmopolitan and individualists. 16

Standing by such individualism, Soseki often critically

viewed various social trends. As a free individual, he

stressed that the right.s of the individual must be balanced

with the rights of society in general. In this respect, he

attacked all those practices which he regarded as not good,

in a forthright and direct manner regardless of the

opponent. For instance, there are some very revealing

entries in his diary of 1912 on the Imperial Family. One

such entry . lS about a Noh performance where smoking was

prohibited and the Empress and the Crown Prince were --------------------

16 ibid, p.43.

173

smoking. Soseki writes, "If they consider their own smoking

to be proper, the same freedom ought to be given to their

subjects.,,17 More disturbing thing for him was that even

for small jobs as filling and lighting plpes, they were

being assisted by their attendants. He comments, "They had

better be advised to abolish such prcactice. Are those in

the Ministry of the Imperial Household not awar~ of this?

Or if they are, do they dare not protest? Really

shocking!,,18 And then he states, "The Imperial Family is no

collection of gods. They ought to be accessible and

friendly .... By such excessive and ill-conceived measures

of the officials of the government in general and the

Ministry of Imperial Household in particular, the Imperial

family may gain in weight but will surely alienate

themselves from their subjects. ,,19 In another entry of July

20, Soseki shows his indignation at the decision of the

governmenc to suspend all public performances and popular

entertainments, in defence of the Emperor's critical

condition thus:

His Majesty's condition does certainly deserve the sympathy of the whole populace, but they ought to be allowed to carryon their business as long as it does not aggravate His Majesty's condition. The

17 Yu, n.2, p.166.

18 ibid.

19 ibid, p.166.

174

authorities have no right to interfere with people although they are of course free to interrupt business if their sympathy dictates it. If, on the other hand, they do this in fear of the authorities or the accusing mob, their sympathy and courtesy toward the Imperial family are only perfunctory; they will inwardly nurse their dissatisfaction and grlevance. This is tantamount to ferment~~g causes for dreadful consequences ...

Soseki's indignation was directed more against the

motives of the leaders to use the divinity of the Emperor as

a political weapon as well as a means to keep despotic

control over the national affairs In the name of the

Emperor, than against the Imperial family or system. Soseki

bemoaned the passlng away of Emperor Meiji in his novel

Kokoro when he wrote the "spirit of the Meiji era had begun

with the Emperor and had ended with him." This episode lS

the key to Soseki's thought. While as a true Japanese, he

was concerned about Japan's future, as a free individual and

a man of strict and ullyielding principles that he was, he

fought bitterly for laissez faire. However, seeing that the

postulates of occidental individualism such as the liberty

of the citizen, respect for individual personality and a

high regard for individual endeavour were not only being

denied to the Japanese in the name of the nation, but were

being ruthlessly suppressed under the convenient cover of

patriotic ethics, he also dwelt on the problem of

20 ibid, p.16.

175

individualism vs nationalism, the most debated issue of the

time. Soseki saw no justification ln the national-growth-

first ideology which had no place for individual welfare.

He also warned that it was jingoistic nationalism that was

more harmful for the nation then individualism. I.n the same

speech, he belaboured such nationalism in the most . .. lnC1Slve

tone thus;

The nation may well be important, but we cannot possibly concern ourselves with the nation from morning to night as though possessed by it. There may be those who insist that we think of nothing but the nation twenty four hours a day, but in fact no one can go on thinking about one single thing as incessantly as that. The tofu (bean curd) seller does not go around selling tofu for nation's sake. He does it to earn a living. Whatever his immediate motives may be, he does contribute something to the society and in that sense, perhaps, the nation benefits indirectly ... There is nothing wrong about encouraglng nationalism but to pretend that you are doing all of those impossible things for the nation is simply a lie. No one-and I do mean no one - is going to be unconcerned about nation's safety when the country is in danger. But when the country is strong and the risk of war small, when there is no threat of being attacked from without, then nationalism ought to diminish accordingly and individualism enter to fill the vacuum. This only stands to reason. We are all aware that Japan today is not entirely secure. . . In that sense all of us maintain our concern for the nation. But this country of ours is in no danger of suddenly collapsing; we are not about to suffer annilitationj and so long as this is true, there should be no need for all the commotion on behalf of the country. It is like running through the streets in fire fighting clothes before any fire has broken out.

When war does break out, when a crisis involving the survival of the nation does arise, anyone with a mind that can think-anyone who has

176

cultivated sufficient character such that he cannot help but think - will naturally turn his attention to it. Nature itself will see to it that he gives his all for the nation, even cutting back on personal activity. Thus, I do not for a moment believe that nationalism and individualism are irreconcilable. 21

In sum, since Soseki held that individualistic morality

was far superior than nationalistic morality - in fact the

highest of all moralities, his whole political outlook was

consistent with the doctrine, that government is best which

governs the least, and contended that the state should deal

only with those aspects of social life which cannot be

administered by the individual. History is evidence to the

fact that Soseki's premonition In this regard proved

undeviatingly accurate.

Here it is worth noting that these ideas of Soseki on

'ethical individualism' have remarkable similarity with

Fukuzawa Yukichi's principle of dokuritsu-jison (spirit of

independence and self resect), a term he coined himself,

that was basic to his entire philosophy. It was in his most

widely read book Gakumon no Susume (1872-76) (Advancement of

learning) that Fukuzawa first advocated his revolutionary

concept of 'spirit of independence', when he wrote isshin

dokuritsu shite ikkoku dokuritsu suru koto (A Nation's

liberty derives from individual liberty) or III other words,

--------------------

21 Natuse Soseki, n.2, pp.139-140.

177

wisdom of the people determines the destiny of a nation. In

this work Fukuzawa attacked the ingrained habit of servility

among the ordinary people and of self-abasing by the

Japanese vis-a-vis Western nations. He stressed that there

are no inherent distinctions between men or countries the

difference being one between learning and ignorance. He,

therefore, stressed on the pursuit of tenets such as

development of the intellect and the cultivation of the

moral character, because he opined that no one without a

vigorous spirit of independence can have deep concern for

the country. Obviously, his views were too advanced for

early Meiji Japan, and hence could not be applied

immediately. Fukuzawa elaborated on this philosophy of his

allover again in a speech Jison jidai (On self-esteem)

delivered more than two decades later on 12 March 1898, but

it was in 1900, one year before his death, that he published

a formalized code of ethics for the edification of his

countrymen, wherein he expanded it in minute details. In

this code, he applied this principle of dokuritsu-jison to

cover not only the individual conduct and all social

relations such as those between parents and ~hildren,

husband and wife, between two individuals, rulers and the

ruled, but also between nations. To be more precise, he

.stressed that education helps men to realize the principle

of independence and self-respect and put the same into

178

practice. Some of the salient features of this principle

were as under: 22

* A man of independence and self-respect lS one who

realizes the principle of Independence of both Mind and

Body.

* A man of independence and respect should be a self-

helping and self-supporting man and should not be

dependent upon others for the determination of his own

conduct. He should be intelligent enough to think and

judge for himself.

* Men and women belonging to a civilized society should

love and respect one another as equals, each sex

realizing its own independence and self-respect.

* Husband and wife should not interfere with the

independence and self-respect of the other.

* Such husbands ,nd wives should train their children to

become persons of independence and self-respect when

the time comes for them to step out into the world.

* The only way in which social life can continue is for

each Individual to keep unimpaired his or her own

independence and self-respect as well as that of

others.

22 For complete code of ethics see Morrison,· John W., Modern Japanese Fiction (Salt Lake City, 1955), pp.28-32.

179

* It lS the duty of the Government to administer the

country, to establish and maintain military power, to

protect the people of the land, and to guarantee to the

individual citizen the inviolabilicy of life, property,

honour and liberty. In return for these citizens, it

is the duty of the citizens to give military serVlce

and to contribute to the expense of the nation.

* If citizens fulfil their obligations, it lS also

naturally their duty and privilege to have . . a VOlce In

the legislation, and a right to control the ·government

expenditure.

* Citizens of Japan should never forget their supreme

duty to maintain their national independence and self-

respect, against all foes, and at the sacrifice of even

life and property.

* It is the duty of every citizen, not only to obey the

laws himself, but to see that others obey them likewise

for this is necessary for the maintenance of the peace

and order of society.

* The number of nations In the world lS by no means

small, and they differ from us in religion, language,

colour and customs. Yet they are our brothers. In our

intercourse with them there should be no partiality,

and no attempt at swagger or boastfulness. Such

conduct only leads us to despise other people, and is

180

wholly at varlance with the Principle of Independence

and self-respect.

Obviously this philosophy of Dokuritsu-jison was inspired by

the spirit of popular independence of the West and was ln

contravention with the Confucian-based civil morality being

pursued by the Meiji Government and was quite comparable

with Soseki's brand of individualism. In other words, both

stood for individual liberty and equality of people but also

emphasized the ethical behaviour.

note that since Fukuzawa, like

It is also interesting to

Soseki, believed in the

independence of the individual, he too declined all honours

conferred on him and obstinately refused to join the Meiji

government all his life.

ON MILITARISM

Since Soseki wrote all his works ln the decade that

followed the Russo-Japanese war l.e., when Japan was

beginning to show expansionary tendencies herself and was

developing her own brand of imperialism backed by an intense

nationalist ideology, it was but natural that Soseki voiced

his criticism of militarism, as he did against other evil

tendencies of the time. Many of his works like· Sanshiro,

Sorekara, Tentoroku etc. are interspersed with his strong

anti-war sentiment, or at least strong feelings of ambiguity

about the direction of Japan's national destiny. One of his

181

short works of fiction Shumi no Iden is completely devoted

to the predatory frenzy in the Russo-Japanese war. In

Tentoroku, denunciating war, he writes thus;

I always think what bullets, gunpowder, poisonous gas and flesh and blood will contribute to the future of mankind. I can't help sometimes feel sympathetic, sometimes grieved, sometimes ridiculous and at times funny ...

These wars can not be called struggle for humanity or faith or clash for a meaningful civilization. These are simply manifestations of militarism. 23

And In Sanshiro, describing wars as meaningless and

foolish, he remarks;

I don't really understand why all these wars are being fought. If the things after the war lmprove, it is still understandable, but on the contrary, we lose our precious sons, and the prices rise, there is nothing more foolish in this world than a war. 24

As seen earlier, Soseki repudiated Japan blindly

imitating the west in each and every respect. Speci~lly he

deplored the tendency among the Japanese to· copy the

'arrogance of might' of western imperialistic powers and

warned of its dangerous consequences thus;

There is no reason for an individual to be proud of his power, because he can only harm others if he chooses to use his power. Same is true of nations. Simply for the reason that a country is powerful, it resorts to arms and resultantly

23 Natsume Soseki, Tentoroku, n.1, p.145.

24 Natsume Soseki, Sanshiro (Nihon Seishun Bungakukan, Tokyo, 1973), p.5.

182

causes nuisance to its neighbours. b d . . 1" 25

All this will ut estroy ClVl lzatlon ....

However, on the whole, Soseki's reaction to militarism was

somewhat indirect and subdued. Specially Soseki's silence

on Japan's colonialistic designs in Manchuria and Korea In

his travelogue Mankan tokoro-dokoro that he wrote after an

extensive tour of these two countries in late 1909, just

when these two countries had fallen prey to Japan's

Imperialism is described by many critics as lack of

political consciousness in Soseki. It was perhaps because

Soseki was always non-political in his approach and believed

that all social evils had their roots in the man himself or

the society, and hence always delved into the ugliness of

man's soul and a search for a proper mode of life.

Soseki approached the problem of militarism too from

that angle more often. For instance, Soseki described the

feudal values like 'courage' and 'valour', which the

authorities were aiming to reinforce, as reminiscent of

barbarity of feudal times. He writes thus:

His father was enormously proud of having gone to war. Given the slightest opportunity, he was apt to dismiss the likes of Daisuke with sweeping scorn; they were useless, these fellows, because they had never fought; they had no nerve. He spoke as if 'nerve' were man's most glorious attribute. . .. Courage might well have been an important prerequisite to survival in the barbaric days of his father's youth, when life was taken

25 Natsume Soseki, n.1, pp.153-4.

183

right and left, but In this civilized day and age, Daisuke regarded it as a piece of equipment as primitive as the bow and arrow. 26

Elsewhere in the same work he describes 'bravery' as the

most despicable notion thus:

Daisuke's immediate response to such stories was not admiration but terror. Before he could get around to appreciating the bravery, he was overc?me ~~ the raw smell of blood penetrating his nostrlls.

He opined that such values were of importance to a glven age

only, and that war lS only temporary, and once the period of

crlsls lS over, such values and war heroes will fall into

oblivion. Similarly, Soseki's unrelenting fight for

citizen's rights even when special powers were being

invested with the armed forces and police, or his characters

adopting an attitude of skepticism and dissatisfaction with

the society around them, at a time when Japan boasted of

having come of age and claimed ~o be a world class power,

was nothing but oblique criticism of hypocrisy of the

Japanese including militaristic strength.

ON CONFUCIAN IDEOLOGY

To recapitulate, in the first two decades after the

Restoration, Japanese society passed through the most

26 Field, n.ll, pp.24-2S.

27 ibid, p.39.

184

awakened years of its adaptation to the modern world when

there was flush of enthusiasm for the West. However, as the

evil effects of such uncritical acceptance of Western

civilization began to surface, the pendulum began to swing

back the other way and foreign ideas and institutions that

were earlier eagerly seized upon were now closely examined.

As there was an upsurge of national consciousness, due to a

variety of reason but primarily due to arrogant and

supercillious attitude of western imperialistic powers

towards Japan's attempts to regain autonomy. All efforts

were directed towards enhancing national prestige and

prosperity.

With a Vlew to achieving an extremely pertinent

political alm, namely indissoluble unity of the people,

Meiji Government went back on its earlier declared policy

cased on the principles of liberLY and equality and kept an

increasingly despotic control over the national affairs.

The Imperial Constitution put various constitutional limits

on the rights of the Diet. Bureaucracy came to enJoy

discriminatory powers (Kanson-minpi, "respect government

servants, despise common people", or in other words putting

government above people) . To justify all this, attempts

were made to reinforce traditional confucianistic values

like loyalty, patriotism, obedience, diligence, collectivism

and respect for authority and Shinto-based reverence for the

185

Emperor. E h l ~ natl'onall'stic indoctrination ven In sc 00 ~,

received precedence over academic training.

All this gave to varlous fundamental

contradictions and inconsistencies in the policies followed

by the Meiji leaders. While on one hand, they introduced

western progressivism, on the other they called for

orthodoxy on the moral front which did not match with the

social realities. The development of social thoughts and

social movements under the influence of philanthropic and

humanitarian teachings of Christianity, liberty and equality

of France, trade unionism of Great Britain and America was

ruthlessly extirpated despite the fact that social

revolution was not a major phenomenon in Japan.

Soseki, who, as seen earlier, was critical of

indiscreet modernization, raised his voice equally strongly

against such orthodoxy and attacked the upholders of

traditional morality with the same fury with which he

attacked the supporters of extreme westernization.

instance in Bungei to Dotoku, a speech delivered at Osaka

August 1911 he defined such an attempt as anachronistic.

People say 'history repeats itself'. But in my opinion, history never repeats itself and a ,thing cannot be recreated exactly in its earlier· form again. At present romantic morality is being revived as a reaction against naturalistic morality, but it is impossible to revive the romantic morality of pre-Restoration days. It has to be a variation of earlier morality suited to present times and one that can extricate us from

186

For

. In

· 28 the vices of the present soclety.

It, however, does not imply that Soseki rejected Confucian

morality altogether. Far from it, he himself was greatly

influenced by Confucian moral percepts because of his

Confucian training when young. His philosophy of Sokuten

Kyoshi (Follow Heaven, Forsake self), pursuit of

intellectual honesty and truth until death had distinct

stamp of Confucian val~e system. Thus, one can conclude

that Soseki's motto was a modern repossession of some of the

central spiritual values of Eastern tradition in the late

Meiji context. 29 For instance, in his other speech Nakami

to Keishiki (Content and Form) delivered at Sakai in August

1911, he expounded his stand on this matter further:

Contents are definitely more important than the form because the latter exists for the former and not vice versa. To be more precise, if the contents change, the form that holds it together must automatically change.... And if we try to break this rule and disregarding the facts, take a pre-conceived form and try to fit our life into it, we will be trying to achieve the unreasonable. And if we try to force our way through with such unreasonable form, it will lead to agitation, if done - say, at a school (college) level, and a revolution, if attempted at a country level .... For instance, why did the Tokugawa reign collapse and the Meiji Restoration take place? It was because the Tokugawa rulers tried to persist with the same model eternally, neglecting the contents.

28 Natusme Soseki, n.2, pp.97-98.

29 Biddle, Ward William, "The Authenticity of Natsume Soseki", Monumenta Nipponica, vol.28, no.4, 1973, p.393.

187

Of course, they succeeded temporarily but such a model where contents do not fit into it, is .bound to collapse one day.... Specially human be.ings, who are prone to change all the time cannot be controlled by an immutable model or form.

Japanese society is changing rapidly and with it our inner life is also changing fast. Our society is moving at a breakneck speed without a moment's pause. Social situation today is much different from what it was 20-30 years ago. And it is but natural that the form which holds together such a society has changed too. If we try to fit our changed life style into the old form, we are bound to end in failure. My argument may be better understood, if you think of our attitude towards our wives and daughters today and what it used to be in the pre-Restoration days.

In short, the form that holds such a society together must be open to change, otherwise ~here will be no progression. . .. If we admit that our attitude towards our women has changed, educators need to change their outlook towards students and the Government towards the populace. If we persist with an immutable form, unmindful of the changes in contents, simply for the reason that a form already exists or because one is fond of it and adopt an indifferent attitude, typical of a scholar, towards the change in life of others it will have dangerous implications.

Thus, a model (form) suited for Meiji must be one which is in consonance with the social realities or to be more precise, close to our mental state and one that has the least of unreasonabili-

. 30 t les ....

Here once agaln Soseki's Vlews are comparable with those of

Fukuzawa's in this regard who too very stringently attacked

the Confucianist morality. In an essay entitled

Hanshinhangi wa Fuka Nari {Intellectual vacillation cannot

30 Natsume Soseki, n.l, pp.8l-84.

188

be allowed) he writes: "I am not one who studies Western

learning and tries to combine it with Chinese learning. I

wish to tear up traditional teaching by the roots and open

the way to the new culture.,,31 Fukuzawa proposed the

aforesaid 'code of ethics' as a replacement for antiquated

Confucian morality. Following excerpt from the preface of

the said 'code of ethics' is a testimony to the fact that

how similar Soseki's and Fukuzawa's views were on this

matter.

Our conduct is regulated by various systems of moral teachings which have been handed down from past ages. It is fitting, however, that moral teachings should be modified from time to time to keep pace with the progress of civilization, and it is but natural that a highly advanced and ever advancing society such as we find in the world today should be provided with a system of morals suited to its needs than the antiquated teachings of feudal days.32

However, while both Fukuzawa and Soseki refuted the

invalidity and erroneousness of attempts to revive the

obsolete doctrine of the feudal past, Soseki I s approach

towards Confucian ideology was more methodical. Unlike

Fukuzawa who rejected Confucianism outright, Soseki

discussed the anachronism and limitations of feudal morality

more analytically thus;

31 Kato Shuichi, A Historv of Japanese Literature Vol.3, The Modern Years (Tokyo, 1979), p.81.

32 Morrison, n.22, pp.28-29.

189

Ancient morality i.e., Lhe morality of the Tokugawa period was one where an absolutely idealistic model was created and taking that as the standard, people were asked to achieve it. They were told that even the most ordinary ones could also achieve the ultimate virtues like loyalty, piety and chastity, depending on the efforts they made.... Resultantly, moral expectations from each individual were very harsh and any lapse was severely punished. A mistake would cost a person his life. It is well known that people appologised by cutting open their stomachs. But that does not happen today, because they don't need to do so. Of course in those days too no one wanted to disembowel himself but they were forced to do so, that being the order 6f the day. Social sanctions being so rigid, they ~imply could not face the person again and threw their lives away ....

The reasons behind such harsh morality were multifold. Firstly, the present day scientific outlook did not exist at that time. In other words, people did not realize that a man was imperfect despite all education.... To reword it, they lacked critical approach. It was either perfectionism or nothing for them. 33

Further, in his other speech, Kyoiku to Bungei (Educa-

tion and L~terature) Soseki bared the irrationality of

feudal morality thus;

In olden days, there were restraints on the young but no liabilities on the elders. It's no good. Parents looked for certain ideals in their chil­dren but children could not expect the same from their parents. Similarly, wife could not expect any ideals in her husband or the ruled in the ruler. In other words, virtues like filial piety, loyalty and chastity were all conceived keeping the parents, monarchs and husbands respectively in view, with nc consideration for children, subjects

33 Soseki, n.l, pp.86-87.

190

and wives. 34

While ln his speeches, Soseki discussed the problem ln

a forthright manner, In his works of fiction, sta·rting with

Sanshiro, he portrayed the evil effects of such morality.

The most powerful expression to Soseki's views in this

regard was realized in Sorekara. Daisuke, the protagonist,

develops detachment towards his family and the society at

large, due to a vacuum that develops in him caused by the

conflict between the old and the new values, and the

competitive, inhuman society of twentieth-century Japan. At

every step, he resists the rigid social code and expresses

his anguish at the lncongruous mixture of feudalism and

modernism. Here is what he says about the Confucianistic

education.

It was Daisuke's conviction that all morality traced its origin to soci~l realities. He believed there could be no greater confusion of cause and effect than to attempt to conform to social reality to a rigidly pre-determined notion of morality. Accordingly, he found the ethical education conducted by lecture in Japanese schools ut terly meaningless. In the schools I students were either instructed in the old morality or crammed with a morality suited to the average European. For an unfortunate people beset by the fierce appetites of life, this amounted to nothing more than vain, empty talk. When the recipients of this education saw society before their eyes, they would recall those lectures and burst out laughing or else they would feel that they had

34 Soseki Kyoiku to Bungei (Education and Art) I n.1, p.227.

191

been made fools of. In Daisuke's case, it was not just school; he had received the most rigorous and least functional education from his father. Thanks to this, he had at one time experienced

, h' d' , 35 acute anguls stemmlng from contra lctlon.

Soseki, who was opposed to the didactic nature of

educatic~, stressed that education should aim at developing

the inborn ability and cultivation of natural moral nature

or in other words, creation of a modern individual and only

such education would prove of greater service to Japan than

any nationalistic education. 36

Elsewhere, he assailed the Confucian virtues like

discipline and filial piety as under

The so-called discipline had succeeded only in slowly cooling the warm sentiments binding father and son ... Daisuke's father influenced by the teachings of Confucianism firmly believed that the simple fact of bestowing life upon Daisuke permanently guaranteed him grateful love in the face of any unpleasantness or pain, and he had pushed his way always based on this belief. And in the end, he had produced a son who was c6ldly indifferent to him ... To this day, he was completely unaware of the ne~ative results his plan of education had yielded.

In sum, Soseki held that no society can do without

ideals, but Japan must forsake rigid, demanding and

impossible feudal ideals that were now empty of spirit, and

35 Field, n.ll, p.120.

36 Donald Keene, Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature of the Modern Era (Fiction) (New York, 1984), p.308.

37 Field, n.ll, pp.30-3l.

192

instead adopt certain attainable ideals based on a modern

critical, and scientific spirit.

ON LITERATURE

Soseki sought answers to questions on the nature of

literature more earnestly than that to any other problem -

literature being his vocation and hence his primary concern.

As seen in an earlier chapter on Soseki, his whole life was

a continuous spiritual struggle to give shape to modern

Japanese literature that incorporated the modern western

literary techniques but retained its Japanese spirit. As a

result, not only his works of fiction, but his theoretical

works, speeches, literary criticisms and essays abound in

thought and moral philosophy about literature and the arts.

Soseki's biggest dissatisfaction and foremost concern

was with the tendency of the Japanese to blindly imitate

western works and literary theories without really

comprehending them. Since he held that imitation in arts

and literature was unreasonable and totally uncalled for, he

defined such a tendency to be 'boasting of borrowed clothes'

or 'preening with glued on peacock feathers' and proclaimed

that original works of merit could never be created with

such an approach. Contending that western literature could

never become the standard for Japanese literature, despite

the fact that Japanese literature was in its infancy, he

193

called upon the writers of the time to show self-confidence

and self-respect and using the western literary techniques,

display their own creative capabilities. This was, in other

words, his unique philosophy of Jiko-honi (judging things on

one1s own merit), described earlier, which he himself

applied to arrive at his own definition of literature.

In his theory of literature, which no doubt owes its

origin to the west, Soseki identified that there were three

types of relations between nature and art namely, realistic

impressionistic, and expressive. He explained that reality

or truth is important but no artist can hope to or should

try to reproduce nature exactly as it lS, because firstly by

doing so he will be impairing the other ideals like beauty,

love and morality and secondly reality or life is formless

and chaotic and a truth can upset and endanger the present

system of society. An artist, therefore, using his emotions

and sensibilities, should try to depict the image of it as

he views it, thereby giving a form and a meaning to external

reality. However, since his emotions influence the readers,

he should keep the moral and social aspect in mind. He held

that without moral judgement or to be more precise, without

a moral philosophy of life, an artist cannot hope -to produce

a work of permanent value. In other words, his view of art

was that although it should be autonomous, it must have an

interplay of all these three factors. He himself tried the

194

same quite successfully in his works, known to be realistic

as well as idealistic and didactic with deep psychological

insights into life.

Holding this view of literature, he naturally expressed

his dissatisfaction with both romanticism and naturalism,

two major literary schools which dominated the Japanese

literary scene as counter currents in the first decade of

the twentieth century. First of all, he was disturbed with

the contention of the champions of both schools that

literature and morality were incompatible. Since Soseki,

as stated above, held that art and morality were inseparable

at the fundamental level, he denounced naturalistic writers

for their indifference and apathy towards moral issues and

for their concern with baring only the ugly aspects of human

nature to the detriment of beauty, goodness and sublimity.*

On the other hand, he disapproved of romanticism for its

remoteness from the social realities, and scoffed -at writers

who were attempting to revive it as a reaction against

naturalism. He regarded both as two extremes - one creating

incredibly idealistic characters and the other depicting

* It, however, does not imply that it was blanket rejection of naturalistic works. For instance, Soseki was so impressed by Toson I s Hakai (The Broken Commandment), a naturalistic work that he recommended it to not only his young disciples but to his friends as well.

195

people as blindly following their impulses and ignoring

traditional morals. As a result, he believed that the

Japanese reader had come to regard that literature presented

characters who were either slaves of earthly passions, or

unearthly paragons of virtues, but never realistic models

who they could emulate. 38 In his public lecture "Literature

and Morality", describing the limitations of both in their

existing form, he further expanded the matter thus;

In my opinion, pre-Meiji morality was romantic and since then is naturalistic. The former is already dead and does not appear a reality and cannot be implemented in the changed present day socie~y.

These days everyone is concerned about himself. One no longer needs to think about the nation. We now look at the society from an individualistic point of view. Thus our morality is also based on individualistic morality. Romantic morality, i.e, altruism is no more relevant today. Since the society has changed, we have to follow the new morality i.e., naturalistic morality. However, since it attaches too much importance to freedom of the individual, there is a danger that people may become self-indulgent and try to free themselves from restraints and with the increase in such a tendency, they will become increasingly discontented with the society. In such an eventuality, romantic reality will be revived. It is already happening as a reaction against nautralism. However, it is difficult to revive the romantic morality of pre-restoration days. It has to be in consonance with our present day ·life. New romanticism should not have false ideals like old romanticism but should have goals that are close to social reality and attainable.

38 Ueda Makoto, Modern Japanese Writers and the Nature of Literature (Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1976), p.24.

196

Similarly if literature lS In contravention with social reality, it is dead literature. It cannot exist. It will soon be forgotten.

We human beings, whatever we may outside morality and therefore, naturalism which appear to be morality, need reconsideration. problem of just the scholars, but

do, cannot live romanticism and independent of

It is not the of us all. 39

Thus, Soseki' s solution to this dilemma ·was 'neo-

romantic' or to be more preclse, 'neo-idealistic' literature

where characters are neither obsessed with baser human

instincts, nor with something faultlessly noble but they are

simple human beings with human limitations but guided by a

strong sense of idealism. This ideal that Soseki was aiming

at can be found in the same public lecture (Literature and

Morality). Soseki says

In summing up, I will tell you what sort of a person I consider most desirable as a Japan~se of the future. He is the type of person who hdlds a high but attainable ideal and who seeks to live harmoniously with his neighbours - a person who, having ample generosity and understandingj can forgive human frailties and make that forgiveness the lubricant between himself and other individuals. 40

Thus, l.n the final analysis, Soseki aimed at a

literature that embodied humanistic ideals, fostered a

desire for things ethical, and taught one how to live in the

modern age. And it was the range, depth and intensity with

39 Soseki, n.l, pp.96-98.

40 Ueda, n.38, p.25.

197

which he probed psychological and moral issues from a truly

universal and humanitarian outlook based on faith in man,

that Soseki's art has a universal appeal.

198