Kokoro

Loneliness lies at the heart of Kokoro, plaguing its two main characters, Sensei and the narrator. For Sensei, this loneliness stems from feelings of deep misanthropy and guilt. Betrayed by his uncle after his parents’ deaths, Sensei loses not just an emotional connection with his family, but also his faith in humanity as a whole, leading to a profound sense of alienation. The two people he connects with most deeply, Ojosan and K…

Set during Japan’s transition from the Meiji era to the Taisho era (which occurred in 1912), Kokoro embodies the cultural tensions brought about by the modernization and Westernization of Japan in this period. Though these tensions often bear themselves out along generational lines, they are also deeply regional in nature. For instance, while Sensei does not believe that the narrator will understand his desire to commit junshi (the traditional act of taking one’s own life…

Kokoro is a double bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel), with the first half of the novel focused on the narrator’s journey from youth to adulthood, and the second half on Sensei’s. However, while both accounts describe youth, neither are told from the perspective of youth. Both Sensei and the narrator, writing retrospectively from old age, have had time to sit with their experiences. In recounting their stories, they often interrupt themselves to highlight mistakes, shortcomings…