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I Am a Cat

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox book

| name = I Am a Cat

| author = Natsume Sseki

| language = Japanese

| country = Japan

| genre = Satirical novel

| publisher =

| isbn = 978-0-8048-3265-6

|

| title_orig = Wagahai wa Neko de Aru

| translator = Aiko Ito and Graeme Wilson

| image = I AM A CAT by K. Ando.jpg

| caption = Cover of the 1906 English translation

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| release_date = 19051906

| english_release_date = 1972 by Tuttle Publishing

| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)

| congress = PL812.A8 W313 2002

| oclc = 49703480

| preceded_by =

| followed_by =

}}

is a satirical novel written in 19051906 by Natsume Sseki about Japanese society during the Meiji period (18681912), particularly the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions.

Sseki's title, 'Wagahai wa Neko de Aru', uses a very high-register phrasing more appropriate to a nobleman, conveying grandiloquence and self-importance. This is somewhat ironic, since the speaker, an anthropomorphized domestic cat, is a regular house cat of a teacher, and not of a high-ranking noble as the manner of speech suggests, an example of Sseki's love for droll writing.

The book was first published in ten installments in the literary journal 'Hototogisu'. At first, Sseki intended only to write the short story that constitutes the first chapter of 'I Am a Cat'. However, Takahama Kyoshi, one of the editors of 'Hototogisu', persuaded Sseki to serialize the work, which evolved stylistically as the installments progressed. Nearly all the chapters can stand alone as discrete works.

Plot summary



In 'I Am a Cat', a supercilious, feline narrator describes the lives of an assortment of middle-class Japanese people: Mr. This is the spelling used in the abridged translation by Aiko It and Graeme Wilson. ("sneeze" is misspelled on purpose, but literally translated from , in the original Japanese) and family (the cat's owners), Sneaze's garrulous and irritating friend , and the young scholar with his will-he-won't-he courtship of the businessman's spoiled daughter, .

Cultural impact



'I Am a Cat' is a frequent assignment to Japanese schoolchildren, such that the plot and style remain well-known long after publication. One effect was that the narrator's manner of speech, which was archaic even at the time of writing, became largely associated with the cat and the book. The narrator's preferred personal pronoun, 'wagahai', is rarely-to-never used in "real life" in Japan, but survives in fiction thanks to the book, generally for arrogant and pompous anthropomorphized animals. For example, Bowser, the turtle-king enemy in many 'Mario' series video games, uses 'wagahai', as does Morgana, a cat character in 'Persona 5'.



Adaptations



The novel was first adapted into a film released in 1936. Later, prolific screenwriter Toshio Yasumi adapted the novel into a screenplay, and a second film was directed by Kon Ichikawa. It premiered in Japanese cinemas in 1975. An anime television special adaptation aired in 1982.

Footnotes




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