夏目漱石の「道の為めに生きべきもの」について ― 『野分』を中心に ―

Abstract

Soseki's “Nowake” depicts Doya, who says that the Do(道) is precious. As the enlightenment of Buddhism, which he had learned from reading many Chinese scriptures since he was a boy, was imbedded in his mind, he met Masaoka Shiki, and they had a close relationship with each other on the path of Zen training for enlightenment, as well as literature. With this in mind, he spends his whole life visiting Zen temples and practicing Zen meditation as a way to live. Soseki recalls the memories he made with his best friend Masaoka Shiki during his life, and I think he writes them down in “Nowake” which he wrote at the turning point of leaving “Hotogis,” a literary magazine left by Masaoka Shiki. In other words, Soseki, who quit his lecture at university and moved to the Asahi Shimbun, wrote a book called “Nowake” remembering Masaoka Shiki, who was influenced both by literature and by his ideas about the Do(道). In “Nowake” Doya, who should be alive for the sake of the Do(道), preaches the Vimukti to escape from the custody. Soseki depicts through Doya his thoughts on the way to enlightenment. Therefore, I think that “Nowake” is a work that cannot be overlooked as one of the things that understand the thought and the life of Soseki's literature.