Jan 07 2025 64 mins
One. 0:00—Apology. 1:57— Sōseki’s reputation. 4:26—Writing The Heredity of Taste. 6:01—The dogs of war. 10:07: Banzai! 14:26—General Nogi. 17:17—The narrator. 18:40—Digressions. 22:27—Aaagh! 24:25—A true war story. 26:26—A question of tone. 30:00—Vitality & neurasthenia. 33:37—The best of Japan. 36:16—Interlude.
Two: 38:37—A lyrical passage. 41:09—Port Arthur. 43:01—Human bullets. 44:04—November 26, 1905. 47:15—A distant observer. 48:40—Dogs, ants, spiders, snakes, snails, & tadpoles. 50:13—Kō-San’s rise & fall. 52:23—The call of the war. 57:09—In the ditch. 1:02:37—The final tally. 1:04:06—Closing.
Text: Natsume Sōseki, The Heredity of Taste. Translated by Sammy I. Tsunematsu. Boston: Tuttle, 2004.
Interlude: “Battoutai,”Japanese Old Gunka (Military March) Collection, Internet Archive.
Illustration: Natsume Sōseki (1912), "Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures," National Diet Library, Japan.
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