BOTCHAN

   One of the most beloved novels by author Natsume Soseki, Botchan (1906; tr. Botchan: Master Darling, 1947) mirrors Soseki’s personal experiences of leaving Tokyo for the first time and working as a provincial schoolteacher. The protagonist, referred to as Botchan (young master), a deferential term of endearment, is a recent college graduate sent from Tokyo to teach mathematics at a middle school on the island of Shikoku. His interactions with the students, his conversations and battles with colleagues, and his rebellious attitude toward corrupt authorities in this often-humorous novel explore the changes Japan was undergoing following the Meiji Restoration.