naviarhaiku523 – My eyes lift to see

This is a haiku taken from Kusamakura (or The Three-Cornered World), a novel by Natsume Soseki I'm currently reading.

A book that transcends the plot development of "standard" Western literature, this is a book about the nature of art and beauty, filled with lyrical beauty and internal monologues on what it means to be an artist.

To give you an idea, here's how the book starts:

“If you work by reason, you grow rough-edged; if you choose to dip your oar into sentiment’s stream, it will sweep you away. Demanding your own way only serves to constrain you. However you look at it, the human world is not an easy place to live. And when its difficulties intensify, you find yourself longing to leave that world and dwell in some easier one—and then, when you understand at last that difficulties will dog you wherever you may live, this is when poetry and art are born.”

One of the most influential modern Japanese writers, Natsume Soseki’s literary career started in 1903, with a series of haiku and renga published on various literary magazines.

Between 1900 and 1903 he studied at the UCL in London, but this proved to be quite a dramatic experience for the young Soseki. Despite this, when Soseki returned to Japan, he exploded into prolific writing activity.

Haiku by Natsume Soseki

Picture by Henry & Co.