Some books can remain in your head a long time especially when you read them in your vulnerable years. Even if you think you have got much older and are not that sensitive anymore, the dull shock you once had can be retrieved inside of you to let you feel something more out of it.
The story is told by a student (the narrator) who start describing who Sensei was.
"It was at Kamakura, during the summer holidays, that I first met Sensei. I was then a very young student. I went there at the insistence of a friend of mine, who had gone to Kamakura to swim."
The narrator keeps an eye on this (presumably) middle-aged man who he doesn't really know of.
"Sensei had just taken his clothes off and was about to go for a swim when I first laid eyes on him in the tea house. I had already had my swim, and was letting the wind blow gently on my wet body. Between us, there were numerous black heads moving about. I was in a relaxed frame of mind, and there was such a crowd on the beach that I should never have noticed him had he not been accompanied by a Westerner."
Why does he do that? Does he like guys? - I doubt it.
It might be understandable if you start thinking that people of similar social backgrounds with no specific religious orientation can be lead to this tendency, when they have to identify themselves.
This story consistently describes this middled-aged guy, who is never a super hero or anything but just a mediocre individual with a negative mindset. Why this guy? Why this author wants to pick up this person? Why this story has been read for 100 years? What's in it, anyway?
I think this is because the readers have a desire to be different from others, or want to find what is so special about themselves through tracing the descriptions. It appears to be written about somebody, but the focus is on the readers themselves in order to be satisfied to deeply know that this mediocre passive fellow is an extraordinary individual in disguise.
Also, it is interesting to find that people of 1914 (including Soseki) thought of "Westerners" as frightening creatures as well as gorgeous celebrities. It might have something to do with how the Japanese today would think of "Westerners".
"The Westerner, with his extremely pale skin, had already attracted my attention when I approached the tea house. He was standing with folded arms, facing the sea; carelessly thrown down on the stool by his side was a Japanese summer dress which he had been wearing. He had on him only a pair of drawers such as we were accustomed to wear. I found this particularly strange. Two days previously I had gone to Yuigahama and, sitting on top of a small dune close to the rear entrance of a Western-style hotel, I had whiled away the time watching the Westerners bathe. All of them had their torsos, arms, and thighs well-covered. The women especially seemed overly modest. Most of them were wearing brightly colored rubber caps which could be seen bobbing conspicuously amongst the waves. After having observed such a scene, it was natural that I should think this Westerner, who stood so lightly clad in our midst, quite extraordinary."
"As I watched, he turned his head to the side and spoke a few words to a Japanese, who happened to be bending down to pick up a small towel which he had dropped on the sand. The Japanese then tied the towel around his head, and immediately began to walk towards the sea. This man was Sensei."
Reading up until this far, I feel the main character should be "I" the narrator, which most likely means the reader. - When I think about it, the dull feelings I had from this book in my teenage days might have been a process to recognize I was one in-dividual. If you replace this "self" with "your own country" or "nation", that would explain why many people (including myself) have a desire to mention different countries.
