Botchan

Sōseki Natsume’s novel Botchan (1906), based in part on his own experiences teaching on a remote Japanese island, reflects an unsettled time in Japan’s history when rapid modernization in the urban areas created conflict with the more tradition-bound rural communities.

The narrator, Botchan (a nickname that translates to “young master”) recounts times in his childhood in Tokyo when he was reckless and paid a price for rash acts, such as jumping off the second story of his school, cutting his thumb badly to prove his new penknife was sharp, and getting into a fight with a schoolmate, destroying a neighbor’s garden in the process. His own father has an obvious dislike for him, and after his mother’s death, his older brother—favored by his parents because of his studious and serious nature—blames Botchan, believing his wild ways drove her to an early grave. Instead of being cowed by these opinions, however, Botchan grows defiantly willful. This recommends him to his only childhood friend, Kiyo, the old servant who works in their house. Admiring Botchan’s individualism, Kiyo gives him treats and gifts of money to encourage him. Kiyo gives him the name Botchan.

Botchan’s father dies, and his brother decides to sell their house. He gives Botchan enough money to support himself and pay for the rest of his education and then moves away. Botchan struggles on alone; an indifferent student, he chooses to major in science and math on a whim, and barely manages to graduate. Due to his mediocre grades and lack of connections, the best teaching post he can acquire is in the remote village of Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku, an area far from the sophisticated and rapidly modernizing city of Tokyo.



Traveling to Matsuyama, Botchan is dismayed by what he sees as the primitive and backward nature of life there. Regarding the traditional rituals of respect to be ridiculous, he pointedly refuses to engage with them, offending the traditional-minded citizens of his new home.

Badger, the headmaster of the school, greets on his arrival, lecturing him on setting a good moral example for the students by being careful of his behavior both inside and outside the classroom. Offended by this, Botchan knows he will not be able to live up to an artificial standard of behavior he regards as insincere. He offers to resign and return his letter of appointment on the spot. Badger is surprised at this reaction, confessing he expected Botchan simply to go along with his pretense, but that he does not really expect Botchan to adhere to the behavioral guidelines he had laid out; the speech was merely what is expected in such situations.

Botchan meets other teachers: Mr. Hotta, whom Botchan nicknames Porcupine because of his spiky hair, the English Teacher, whom he nicknames Squash, and the head teacher, Red Shirt. He quickly discovers that Red Shirt and Squash are rivals for the affections of a beautiful local woman, Madonna, and the rest of the teaching staff have coalesced around each, split into two rival groups.



Initially uncertain which side to support, Botchan quickly decides that Red Shirt, a pompous boor, is actually quite ignorant with only a superficial sheen of erudition. He decides that Porcupine and Squash are the right people to support.

In his classroom, Botchan finds himself mocked by his students for his Tokyo dialect, accent, and city ways. The students play several tricks on Botchan, who finds it difficult to assert his authority. Outside the classroom, Red Shirt schemes to eliminate the teachers who do not support him, forcing one teacher to transfer to a remote posting that is superficially a promotion. He then stages a fight in the street and has Porcupine and Botchan blamed for the violence, resulting in Porcupine being forced to resign. Outraged, Botchan and Porcupine plan their revenge. They follow Red Shirt home from a notorious tavern after he and a friend have spent the night with a geisha. They confront Red Shirt, but he is defiant, telling them that they have no evidence of his immoral behavior. Realizing the truth of this, Botchan and Porcupine resort to violence, beating Red Shirt and his friend.

Botchan goes back to his rooms and pens a letter of resignation, which he drops into the mail. He heads to the harbor to find a ship back to the mainland. He goes back to Tokyo, finds a new job, and hires Kiyo to be his servant. They live a happy existence until several years later, Kiyo passes away, and Botchan has her buried in his family plot.