is a Japanese
novel written in 1910 by Natsume SÅseki, author of I Am a Cat. It was a commercial success when published in Japan and has been translated into English by Francis Mathy.
The Gate concerns a middle-aged married couple, Oyone and
Sosuke, who married for love in their student days. The couple
first suffered exclusion from society due to their ill-advised
marriage; as the novel opens, they languish in
ennui because they no longer feel passion for one
another. However, Oyone's ill health and a visit from Sosuke's
younger brother provoke a marital crisis which becomes the central
diegesis.
Thematically and by the author's own reckoning,
The Gate
is the third in a trilogy of novels begun by
Sanshiro (1908) and (1909). All three novels
deal with the themes of
self-knowledge and responsibility - on the
one hand, accountability to society, and on the other,
responsibility to one's own emotions. However, the three novels do
not share characters.