The three-cornered world of Glenn Gould and Natsume Soseki

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first English-language translation of “Kusamakura” (literally “Pillow of Grass”), a 1906 novella by one of Japan’s greatest writers, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916). Published in 1965, this award-winning translation — by Alan Turney — was given a new title: “The Three-Cornered World.”

Soseki’s original, “Kusamakura,” contains some particularly fine examples of Japanese expression, and is packed with philosophical musings on the nature of Western painting, Chinese poetry and Zen among many other subjects. For Soseki’s legions of fans it is a tour de force.