--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I realized that it was not Ko-san, now…" description: "\"“I realized that it was not Ko-san, now safely ditched for ever, but Ko-san's mother who stood in need of pity and consideration. She must still live o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg" --- # I realized that it was not Ko-san, now safely ditched for… ![“I realized that it was not Ko-san, now safely ditched for ever, but Ko-san's mother who stood in need of pity and consideration. She must still live on in this hard unpitying world, but he, once he had jumped [in battle], had jumped beyond such things. The case could well have been different, had…” quote by Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg) > ““I realized that it was not Ko-san, now safely ditched for ever, but Ko-san's mother who stood in need of pity and consideration. She must still live on in this hard unpitying world, but he, once he had jumped \[in battle\], had jumped beyond such things. The case could well have been different, had he never jumped; but he did jump; and that, as they say, is that. Whether this world's weather turns out fine or cloudy no more worries him; but it matters to his mother. It rains, so she sits alone indoors thinking about Ko-san. And now it's fine, so she potters out and meets a friend of Ko-san's. She hangs out the national flag to welcome the returned soliders, but her joy is made querulous with wishing that Ko-san were alive. At the public bath-house, some young girl of marriageable age helps her to carry a bucket of hot water: but her pleasure from that kindness is soured as she thinks if only I had a daughter-in-law like this girl. To live under such conditions is to live in agonies. Had she lost one out of many children, there would be consolation and comfort in the mere fact of the survivors. But when loss halves a family of just one parent and one child, the damage is as irreparable as when a gourd is broken clean across its middle. There's nothing left to hang on to. Like the sergeant's mother, she too had waited for her son's return, counting on shriveled fingers the passing of the days and nights before that special day when she would be able once more to hang on him. But Ko-san with the flag jumped resolutely down into the ditch and still has not climbed back.”” [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother endures profound grief after her son’s death, while the living soldier feels detached from such sorrow, highlighting the disparity between personal loss and societal indifference. **In simple terms:** A mother suffers alone after her son dies; the soldier is detached. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor unseen grief. Themes grief war family loss detachment Mood somber reflective Type narrative empathic When to use this quote - war memorials - family counseling - community support groups - memorial services Key Concepts existentialism human suffering social isolation Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better support grieving families? - What responsibilities do survivors have toward those left behind? 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Quite awful! Ueda Bin is constantly pointing out in his essays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/so-that-wee-bit-of-a-thing-is-what-you-call-a-haiku-play-quite-awful/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“How deep, how recondite this seeming petty heart, In whose recesses right and wrong lie dimmed by distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/how-deep-how-recondite-this-seeming-petty-heart-in-whose-recesses/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“The autumn leaves, arranged in two or three scarlet terraces among the pine-trees, have fallen like ancient dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/the-autumn-leaves-arranged-in-two-or-three-scarlet-terraces-among-the/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“When twilight fell, first upon knickers and then upon surcoats, there came the dawn of Japanese skirted-trousers. 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Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. 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She must still live on in this hard unpitying world, but he, once he had jumped [in battle], had jumped beyond such things. The case could well have been different, had he never jumped; but he did jump; and that, as they say, is that. Whether this world's weather turns out fine or cloudy no more worries him; but it matters to his mother. It rains, so she sits alone indoors thinking about Ko-san. And now it's fine, so she potters out and meets a friend of Ko-san's. She hangs out the national flag to welcome the returned soliders, but her joy is made querulous with wishing that Ko-san were alive. At the public bath-house, some young girl of marriageable age helps her to carry a bucket of hot water: but her pleasure from that kindness is soured as she thinks if only I had a daughter-in-law like this girl. To live under such conditions is to live in agonies. Had she lost one out of many children, there would be consolation and comfort in the mere fact of the survivors. But when loss halves a family of just one parent and one child, the damage is as irreparable as when a gourd is broken clean across its middle. There's nothing left to hang on to. Like the sergeant's mother, she too had waited for her son's return, counting on shriveled fingers the passing of the days and nights before that special day when she would be able once more to hang on him. But Ko-san with the flag jumped resolutely down into the ditch and still has not climbed back.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sōseki Natsume" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-safely-ditched-for-ever-but-ko/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-safely-ditched-for-ever-but-ko/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/soseki-natsume-9685_grief_i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-sa_2993922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I realized that it was not Ko-san, now safely ditched for ever, but Ko-san's mother who stood in need of…” — Sōseki Natsume", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sōseki Natsume", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I realized that it was not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-safely-ditched-for-ever-but-ko/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-realized-that-it-was-not-ko-san-now-safely-ditched-for-ever-but-ko/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```