A nameless stray cat adopted by the dyspeptic schoolteacher Kushami watches his household and its string of cranky, pedantic visitors, mocking human vanity from under the veranda. The prankster Meitei's tall tales, the businessman Kaneda's famous nose and Kangetsu's violin misadventures pile up into a sprawling satire of Meiji Japan.
Books mentioned in I Am a Cat (15)
Theophano by Frederic Harrison: “Not long ago, when Harrison's historical novel Theophano came up where a man of letters was present, I praised it as the finest of historical novels, especially the chilling death of the heroine. The gentleman across from me, who never admits ignorance, agreed it was splendid writing, and so I knew he hadn't read it either, any more than… [auto-translated]”
The Odyssey by Homer: “As for the use of strangulation as a true form of punishment, according to my research it appears in Book 22 of The Odyssey, in the passage where Telemachus hangs Penelope's twelve maidservants. [auto-translated]”
Beowulf: “Then, moving on to England, the word 'gallows' appears in Beowulf, so it seems certain that hanging was practiced as a punishment from that age. [auto-translated]”
Piers Plowman by William Langland: “Oddly enough, though, Piers Plowman contains a line saying that even a villain must not be hanged twice. I don't know which is correct, but the fact is that a man sometimes fails to die the first time. [auto-translated]”
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: “Since then I have studied noses further, and lately I found a discourse on noses in Tristram Shandy. A pity Kaneda's nose was never shown to Sterne; it would have made fine material. [auto-translated]”
Hamlet by William Shakespeare: “Even Shakespeare, forever and ever Shakespeare, would be dull. Unless someone now and then looks at Hamlet from between his legs and says, 'Look here, this won't do,' literature will never advance. [auto-translated]”
The Analects by Confucius: “Eventually he wrote it in one breath in colloquial style: 'Tennen Koji is a man who studies space, reads The Analects, eats roast sweet potatoes, and lets his snot drip.' [auto-translated]”
The Golden Demon by Ozaki Kōyō: “I asked whether he would do a Chikamatsu domestic play again, and he said no, next time they had chosen something far more modern, The Golden Demon. When I asked what part he had, he said he was Omiya. [auto-translated]”
Tao Te Ching by Laozi: “The master's only reason for revering this prose is that nobody understands it at all, just as Taoists revere the Tao Te Ching, Confucians the I Ching, and Zen followers the Record of Linji. [auto-translated]”
I Ching: “The master's only reason for revering this prose is that nobody understands it at all, just as Taoists revere the Tao Te Ching, Confucians the I Ching, and Zen followers the Record of Linji. [auto-translated]”
Record of Linji by Linji Yixuan: “The master's only reason for revering this prose is that nobody understands it at all, just as Taoists revere the Tao Te Ching, Confucians the I Ching, and Zen followers the Record of Linji. [auto-translated]”
Fudōchi Shinmyōroku by Takuan Sōhō: “"Have you ever read Zen Master Takuan's Fudōchi Shinmyōroku?" "No, I have never even heard of it." [auto-translated]”
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden by Takizawa Bakin: “To expect more than that is an unreasonable demand, one that could be counted on only when Shino and Kobungo step out of Bakin's novel and the Nansō Satomi Hakkenden moves in next door. [auto-translated]”
Tang Shi Xuan by Li Panlong: “Even when I think I would feel better singing the Tang Shi Xuan aloud, if a neighbor might be troubled as I am, I always hold back. [auto-translated]”
The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by E. T. A. Hoffmann: “I had thought no cat could be as discerning as I, but the other day an unknown kinsman, Kater Murr, suddenly started holding forth boastfully and gave me a start. It seems he died a hundred years ago. [auto-translated]”
Books that mention I Am a Cat (2)
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai: “I picked Soseki's I Am a Cat from the bookshelf and gave it to her. [auto-translated]”
Vita Sexualis by Mori Ōgai: “Then Natsume Kinnosuke began to write novels. Kanai read them with great interest and felt an itch to write himself, but when things like "I Am Also a Cat" and "I Am a Dog" appeared in answer to Natsume's "I Am a Cat," he grew thoroughly sick of the idea and ended up writing nothing. [auto-translated]”