
Over the course of the novel it is revealed that Oyone was the wife of a former friend, and that Oyone and Sosuke suffered exclusion from society due to their ill-advised marriage. As the novel opens, they languish in ennui because they have no children and Sosuke has to focus on his career. The Gate concerns a middle-aged married couple, Oyone and Sosuke, who married for love in their student days. Shortly after completing The Gate, Sōseki nearly died from an ongoing illness and its treatments, and his later works changed in tone and content. The part of the novel describing Sosuke's retreat to a Zen temple mirrors Sōseki's own experience in Kamakura. When Sōseki's publisher needed to announce the title for his next work, Toyotaka Komiya, one of Sōseki's pupils, chose the title at random from a nearby book, which happened to be Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Sōseki did not choose the title Mon ( The Gate).

Pico Iyer wrote the introduction for the 2013 edition, which was published by New York Review Books. Multiple English translations have been published, including a 1990 edition translated by Francis Mathy and a 2013 edition translated by William F. This novel is about Sosuke, who betrays his best friend Yasui and marries his wife Yone, and how he seeks salvation from his guilt. It was a commercial success when published in Japan. This is the last work of the first trilogy, following " Sanshirō " and " Sorekara". Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.Īny changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.The Gate ( 門, Mon) is a Japanese novel written in 1910 by Natsume Sōseki. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.


If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for $69 per month.įor cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here.Ĭhange the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages.
