Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石, 9 February 1867 – 9 December 1916), born Natsume Kin'nosuke (夏目 金之助), was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat, Kusamakura and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer of haiku, kanshi, and fairy tales. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1,000 yen note. Source: Wikipedia (en)