Super Short Summary

Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki is a 1914 novel set at the end of the Meiji Restoration that explores the impact of a changing Japanese society on an older man and a younger man who form an unlikely friendship. The unnamed narrator meets an enigmatic man he calls Sensei, develops a bond with him and his wife, Shizu, and navigates familial and societal duties while uncovering Sensei's hidden past and secrets through the latter’s letter. The novel contains frequent references to suicide.