Early life

Born on the cusp of the Meiji Restoration, Sōseki had a turbulent childhood, having been given up for adoption twice. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University and became a scholar of English literature. In 1900, he was sent by the Japanese government to study in London.

Study in London (1900–1902)

In London, Sōseki spent two miserable years marked by poverty, racial alienation, and a severe nervous breakdown. Upon his return to Japan, he succeeded Lafcadio Hearn as a lecturer in English literature at Tokyo Imperial University.

Literary career

In 1905, he achieved fame with the publication of the satirical novel I Am a Cat. This success prompted him to begin a prolific writing career, and in 1907, he resigned from his university post to become a full-time author for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

For the rest of his life, Sōseki published a novel a year while also writing poetry and literary criticism. His work is characterized by its psychological depth, its blend of humor and pessimism, and its exploration of the human ego.

Major works

His major works include I Am a Cat (1905), Botchan (1906), Sanshirō (1908), Kokoro (1914), and his unfinished final novel Light and Dark (1916). Throughout his adult life, he suffered from severe stomach ulcers and recurring bouts of mental illness.