And Then (Japanese: それから, Hepburn: Sorekara) is a 1909 Japanese novel by Natsume Sōseki. It is the second part of a trilogy, preceded by Sanshirō (1908) and followed by The Gate (1910).[1]
| Author | Natsume Sōseki |
|---|---|
| Original title | Sorekara |
| Translator | Norma Moore Field |
| Language | Japanese |
| Publisher | The Asahi Shimbun (newspaper) |
Publication date | 1909 |
| Publication place | Japan |
Published in English | 1978 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Sanshirō |
| Followed by | The Gate |
Plot
editThe novel starts with Daisuke, the protagonist, waking up and staring at the ceiling, his hand feeling for his heartbeat. He is the son of a wealthy family and has graduated from a prestigious university, but despite graduating, he is now thirty years old and unemployed, depending on his father's wealth.
One day, he meets his former university friends, Hiraoka and Terao. Hiraoka had a career in the Japanese civil service, but he fought with his boss and was fired for mismanaging finance. Terao intended to become a world-famous novelist but ended up in a part-time job translating works and writing short articles for low wages. These two friends represent a world that Daisuke feels completely detached from, and he questions their reasons for working.
Daisuke does not have much attachment to traditional Japanese society since his education has given him the knowledge that the world is too vast to be confined to the boundaries delineated by tradition. Furthermore, he cannot form any connection to modern society, which views education merely as the prelude to success in a bureaucratic order. Because of Daisuke's detachment from everything, his family decides to continue their financial support for him only on the condition that he marries a woman they have chosen for him. However, Daisuke decides not to take any more support from his family and not to get married. He eventually falls in love with Michiyo, the wife of Hiraoka.
Publication history
editThe publication of And Then was announced in the newspaper Asahi Shimbun on 22 June 1909.[2] It then appeared in the Asahi Shimbun in serialised form between 27 June and 14 October the same year.[3] The following year, it was published in book form by the Shunyodo Publishing Company.[4]
English translation
editAnd Then, an English translation of Sorekara by Norma Moore Field, was first published in 1978.[1][5]
Adaptations
editNatsume's novel has been adapted into a film by Yoshimitsu Morita in 1985 and into a stage play by Kana Yamada in 2017.
References
edit- ^ a b Natsume, Sōseki (2011). "Afterword by Norma Moore Field". And Then. Translated by Moore Field, Norma. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9784805311417.
- ^ McClain, Yoko (2016). "Rethinking Soseki's Mon". In Boscaro, Adriana; Gatti, Franco; Raveri, Massimo (eds.). Rethinking Japan Vol 1: Literature, Visual Arts and Linguistics. Routledge. p. 10.
- ^ Honma, Kenshirō (2002). "Sorekara and The Ordeal of Richard Feverel". Natume Soseki's Novels and English Literature. The University of Virginia. p. 96.
- ^ "Soseki's Works". Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Iwamoto, Yoshio (1998). "Natsume Soseki". In Huffman, James L. (ed.). Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism. Garland Publishing. p. 174. ISBN 9780815325253.