The Heredity of Taste

The Heredity of Taste (趣味の遺傳, Shumi no Iden) is a novella by Japanese writer Natsume Sōseki. It was written in December 1905, following the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5. In it, Sōseki speaks out against the atrocity of war, the sacrifice of soldiers' lives, and the loss of their individuality.^[1]

It was first published in the January 1906 issue of the magazine Teikoku Bungaku ("Imperial Literature").

The novella begins with the narrator's arrival at a train station, where Japanese soldiers are returning from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5. The narrator sees a soldier who bears a striking resemblance to a friend of his, Kō-san, an infantry lieutenant who was killed during that war. The narrator visits Kō-san's grave at a temple and discovers that a young woman has also been visiting the grave of the soldier, who was unmarried. The narrator visits Kō-san's mother, where he finds his friend's diary. There he reads that Kō-san had met a young woman at a post office. After investigating, the narrator proffers his theory on the heredity of taste – the woman and Kō-san found each other attractive owing to a bond forged between their ancestors decades ago.

The Heredity of Taste is available in two translations, both published under the Tuttle imprint. The first is a 1974 translation by Akito Itō and Graeme Wilson, in a volume which also includes two other early works by Sōseki, Ten Nights of Dream and Hearing Things. The newer version is a standalone 2004 translation by Sammy I. Tsunematsu.