To the Spring Equinox and Beyond

Sōseki Natsume (1867-1916) is widely considered the foremost novelist of the Meiji period (1868-1914). After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1893, he taught high school before spending two years in England on a Japanese government scholarship. He returned to lecture in English literature at the university. Numerous nervous disorders forced him to give up teaching in 1908 & he became a full-time writer for the Asahi Shimbun. His 9 major novels of which this was the sixth, thus appeared first in the columns of the Asahi. Today, Sōseki's novels still enjoy immense popularity in Japan, & contemporary Japanese writers continue to be affected by his work.

Sanford Goldstein, Professor Emeritus of Purdue University, USA, & Professor Emeritus of Keiwa College in Japan, holds a Ph.D from the University of Winconsin. He spent most of his working life at Purdue University, but also held positions at Niigata University & Nagasaki University. After his retirement from Purdue in 1992, he spent 11 years at Keiwa College. He is currently a visiting researcher at Keiwa Liberal Arts Research Institute.

The late Professor Kingo Ochiai was a graduate of Tokyo University. He worked for many years at Niigata University in the Department of English, where he retired Professor Emeritus. While colleagues at Niigata, Goldstein & Ochiai collaborated on several translations, including The Wild Geese & To the Spring Equinox & Beyond.