I am a cat
Commentary: The Cat's Struggle to See Through the Human World | Jang Seok-ju
Natsume Soseki Chronology

“Our Story, One Hundred Years Later”
From the millennial writer Natsume Soseki to Haruki Murakami
Where did the 100 years between them and us go?
Reading Soseki in autumn, steeped in the sound of crickets.

Complete translation commemorating the 100th anniversary of Natsume Soseki's death in 2016
The first volume of Korea's first full-length novel collection has been published.

"During those gloomy days of youth, the one who always whispered to me was Natsume Soseki."
In a prosperous society where people chant for freedom, assert independence, and assert their own egos, why are we all so lonely?
Natsume Soseki, who portrayed the egoism, loneliness, and slivers of hope hidden within human relationships—parents and children, couples, relatives, friends, lovers, and teacher—is undoubtedly a pioneering writer not only in Japan but also in Korea.
_ Kang Sang-jung (Professor, Seigakuin University, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo)

The Complete Novels of Natsume Soseki: The Cat's Father

“In 2016, ahead of the 100th anniversary of Natsume Soseki’s death, we are publishing a series of Natsume Soseki’s full-length novels for the first time in Korea.
With solid translations, meticulous editing, and design, Natsume Soseki's novels are reinterpreted with profound humor and poignant observations of life.
We invite readers of world and Korean literature to experience the joy of reading and writing novels through the power of reflection.

Natsume Soseki, the origin of modern Japanese literature and a novelist in an era when novels did not exist, had a great influence on modern and contemporary Japanese writers and is called the great writer of the 20th century and the Shakespeare of Japan.
In Japan, his portrait was used on the 1,000 yen note from 1984 to 2004, and since the publication of the complete works of Soseki by Iwanami Shoten in 1907, his works have been republished in new forms over time, and are still loved to this day.

In Korea, Natsume Soseki's works have been published repeatedly by various publishers, with a focus on his representative works. However, the complete collection of Soseki's novels being published this time is the first complete collection in Korea to be available in a 'contemporary translation', while shedding new light on the world of Soseki's works, which he concentrated on writing for 12 years.
Starting with the four volumes 『I Am a Cat』, 『Master』, 『Grass Pillow』, and 『Typhoon』, it contains not only widely known works that are included in our textbooks, but also hidden novels that are sometimes omitted from Soseki's chronology.
During his short creative period, Soseki wrote numerous works in various fields, including Chinese poetry, haiku, essays, and novels.
There is no doubt that Soseki's works can be called classics, given the unique atmosphere each piece exudes and the unique variations in style according to the content.

Song Tae-wook's meticulous translation, which vividly portrays Soseki's writing style with the phrase "not a single unnecessary sentence," and Noh Jae-myung's deep understanding of Soseki, who translated the complete collection of Soseki's short stories, have been added to create a "Soseki translation for our time."
Furthermore, the work of fully unfolding Soseki's works and reviving them here and now is the life work of Song Tae-wook (『Cat』 and 11 other volumes) and Noh Jae-myung (『Typhoon』 and 『After』).

From Natsume Soseki's first novel, "I Am a Cat," to "Light and Shadow," which he wrote until the end while suffering from a gastric ulcer and nervous breakdown, a total of 14 full-length novels will be presented, with the complete publication date set for 2015.

The questions Natsume Soseki grappled with 100 years ago are still relevant today.

Natsume Soseki may not sound familiar to Korean readers.
However, the question he constantly asks and seeks to answer through literature and scholarship is the fundamental question of 'what does it mean to live humanely for us living in this era?' and it becomes a life topic for us to ponder deeply.
Natsume Soseki suffered from stomachaches throughout his life and suffered from nervous breakdowns and headaches.
Although all of his photographs are of faces with expressionless or nervous expressions, what is never missing from his work is the laughter and fun that digs into people with a solemn face and then bursts out in absurdity.
Universal issues such as life, love, loneliness, death, and society transcend the space of Japan and the times, and are still relevant to us today.
Accordingly, in publishing the complete works of Natsume Soseki's novels, the translator and publisher took pains to ensure that Soseki, who is not only an "object of inquiry" for Japanese literature majors to study in connection with the historical and social background, but also a "living" Soseki, who has been cherished in the hearts of countless readers for over a century, could be read.

One of the unique features of the first complete collection of Natsume Soseki's novels in Korea is the "Soseki Reading Notes" by Korean writers at the end of each volume.
The struggles of “Cat” read by poet Jang Seok-ju, the novelist Baek Ga-heum’s take on “The Young Master” of our time, the compassion of “Grass Pillow” chosen by literary critic Hwang Ho-deok, and the literary theory of “Typhoon” explored by literary critic Shin Hyeong-cheol.
Writers active in various fields have added to the enjoyment of reading Soseki for Korean readers by freely presenting their own interpretations of Soseki in the form of “commentary, not commentary.”

I am a cat

Don't read this seriously.
If you keep doing that, you'll likely end up like Mr. Kushami, who always gets beaten up by Mr. Meitei.
Just relax and enjoy.
Think of it as a comic novel or something like that.
If you keep worrying about whether it's satirizing this or that and trying to figure out the meaning, you'll end up being ignored even by cats.
If you do that, a heavy shadow will fall on you that you can't just laugh off.
_From the Translator's Note

Some readers may think that what I write is just whatever comes to mind, but I am by no means such a frivolous cat.
It goes without saying that the mysterious principles of the universe are contained in each and every word.
(…) One should never commit the rudeness of lying down and reading carelessly or stretching out one’s legs and reading five lines at a time.
I hope that you will at least buy my writing with your own money and read it, rather than being rude and making do with something your friend left unread.
_ From the text 'Cat's Words'

I'm smiling, but somewhere I hear a sad sound
A stubborn English teacher with no common sense, a strange lying aesthetician, a science student who spends all year round sharpening frog eye models… A tour of the house of Gushami (cat owner), a group of people who “have something missing and have lost something” but never say they are lonely! A cat with no name and no place of birth, who thinks of himself as “part of the human world” and naturally betrays his own kind(?) guides “human readers” with his unreserved words like a flowing river.

A day in the life of a cat reading and dancing on a spring day

What about the image of a human being, a "pesky den," shut in and isolated from the world, staunchly confined to his study? The eloquent cat stares blankly at his timid owner, who usually naps, and even when he manages to open a book to read, he immediately falls asleep, drooling.
Meitei, a strangely active aesthetician who goes in a different direction from his master, Kushami, strides in and out of Kushami's house.
It really feels like home.
He pretends to be knowledgeable about everything, but most of his knowledge is nonsense.
If you just follow along, the readers will also be fooled, but the cat belatedly protects the human readers' 'dignity' from Meitei's lies that they cannot understand.
As we giggle at the cat's jokes, at some point, the loneliness of those who are holed up in a den like this book approaches us like cat footsteps, and we wonder if we will all hear a sad sound from within our hearts.

"I Am a Cat" became the catalyst for Soseki's emergence as a writer at the late age of 38.
This novel, which became Soseki's debut work and success story, was first published as a short story.
When the haiku magazine "Hototogis" saw that "I Am a Cat" was receiving favorable reviews and response for its vivid and humorous portrayal of contemporary life and society, they encouraged the author to serialize the novel into a full-length series, which ran for a total of 11 issues from 1905 to 1906.
This book includes the preface written by Soseki when the three volumes of “I Am a Cat” were published, which is not available in existing translations.
Listening to the voice of 'Soseki Sensei' between the bookshelves brings laughter and emotion.