Soseki Natsume’s Postcards Found for 1st Time in 100 Years

May 23, 2018

Fukui- Three postcards written by Japanese literary legend Soseki Natsume (1867-1916) during his study in Britain have been found for the first time in about 100 years, the prefectural government of Fukui, central Japan, said Wednesday.

The postcards were sent to his Japanese friends studying in Germany. In one of the postcards written a month after Natsume arrived in London, he said that he was alone and lonely.

How Natsume spent his life and felt in London are described in the postcards deliberately in small handwritten letters, said Kunihiko Nakajima, honorary professor at Waseda University.

Natsume is known for novels such as "Wagahai wa Neko de Aru" (I Am a Cat), "Botchan" and "Kokoro."

Two of the postcards were addressed to Teisuke Fujishiro, a scholar of German literature who served as the first dean of the literature department of Kyoto Imperial University, the predecessor of Kyoto University. The remaining one was sent to Yaichi Haga, a scholar of Japanese literature.

Natsume, Fujishiro and Haga were schoolmates during their study in Tokyo Imperial University, the predecessor of Tokyo University. They left Japan aboard the same ship in September 1900 to study abroad. Natsume spent two years in Britain. Jiji Press