Soseki and Mishima were both concerned with the erosion of Japanese traditions. After World War II the gap between the young and the old was made more apparent and traditions were lost. Mishima felt that Japan had succumbed to western ideas and cultures and was diluted of its own cultural heritage. Soseki also felt that the gap between old and young people was widening and that this was causing misunderstandings between generations. It was in …showed first 75 words of 1475 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1475 total…of their novels speaks strongly and plainly as a warning not to forget what spirit and tradition means. Their fear that Japan might lose its spirit altogether compels them to write in admonition novels that speak against the younger generation’s forgetfulness. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea and Kokoro are literary works that bring to light the terrible possibility that Japan might never have the same spirit as it once did.