This is the fictionalized version of the life and times of Japanese author [b]Natsume Soseki[/b] during an era of great change in Japan from the traditional Edo period into the modern Meiji period (1867-1912). [b]Soseki[/b] is considered the Charles Dickens or Mark Twain of Japan. His image even appeared on the 1000 yen note for two decades. He is best known for his novel [i]Botchan[/i], on whose times this book is based and the short [i]I Am A Cat[/i] which is integrated into these pages. In this [b]first volume[/b] we meet a circle of [b]Soseki[/b]'s friends and he receives the spark that will become [i]Botchan[/i]. [b]Taniguchi[/b] marries talent to a solid script by [b]Sekikawa[/b] to create a fresco of Japanese society towards the end of the Meiji period as Japan was beginning to open up to the West. What could have been simply an illustrated textbook becomes, in these capable hands, a narrative for adults of great artistic and historical significance.