Botchan

Botchan (坊っちゃん) is a novel written by Natsume Sōseki in 1906. It is one of the most popular novels in Japan, read by many Japanese during their school years. The central theme of the story is morality, but the narrator serves up this theme with generous sides of humor and sarcasm.

Narrative

The time frame of the narration is not given. It is also notable that pronouns are omitted in the first nine paragraphs.

Background

The story is based on the author's personal experience as a teacher dispatched to Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku. Sōseki was born in Tokyo, and dwelling in Matsuyama was his first experience living elsewhere. The novel is set at a middle school in Matsuyama.

Plot Summary

Botchan (young master) is the first-person narrator of the novel. He grows up in Tokyo as a reckless and rambunctious youth. In the opening chapter he hurts himself jumping from the second floor of his elementary school, fights the boy next door, and tramples a neighbor's carrot patch by wrestling (sumō style) on the straw that covers the seedlings. His parents favor his older brother, who is quiet and studious. Botchan is also not well regarded in the neighborhood, having a reputation as the local roughneck. Kiyo, the family's elderly maidservant, is the only one who finds anything redeeming in Botchan's character.

List of minor planets: 91001–92000