Are novels featuring cats the next big thing in Japanese literature? Yes…and no. While there seems to be a sudden influx of Japanese novels with cat characters in translation – think The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa or What You Are Looking For is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama – the truth is that Japanese writers have been very fond of cats, and have always written about them. In fact, The Tale of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu more than a thousand years ago, also features a cat. More recent examples include legendary writer Sōseki Natsume’s 1906 short story “I Am a Cat” which was later expanded into a novel. After Natsume, the cat as an animal protagonist was popularised by Haruki Murakami in his novels Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, where felines often assumed metaphysical forms.
However, in recently published Japanese books, cats are more than just pets. Instead, they are companions and guardian angels who teach the humans they come in contact with about love, loss, and the larger meaning of life. In some instances, these cats have saved lives as their humans struggle with mental health issues and find themselves cornered by their circumstances.
Cats also seem to be a much-loved character in mangas. Umi Sakurai’s series, A Man and His Cat follows an older widower who adopts an unwanted cat. There are already thirteen mangas in this series. Meanwhile, Junji Ito’s Yon and Mu is a part-autobiographical manga about him becoming friends with his fiancee’s two cats.
A trend that started in 1010 with The Tale of Genji hasn’t died down yet. Publishers have more cat-centric Japanese books lined up in 2025 as well, some of them first-ever translations of modern Japanese classics. But what explains the proliferation – and endurance – of the trend? Cats are not just pets anymore. They signify independence, beauty, and majesty but are also quick to find themselves in absurd and often humiliating situations. In a story on the cat’s newfound Internet fame, BBC says, “[cats] fill us with a sympathetic panic and delight, for it exactly mirrors our own.” Perhaps that is why, reading about cats has made centuries of readers take joy in the thoughts of a creature that is, after all, not much different from them.
I Am a Cat, Sōseki Natsume, translated by Aiko Itō and Graeme Wilson
Sōseki Natsume’s 1906 comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirises the foolishness of upper-middle-class Japanese society in early 20th-century Tokyo. Written with biting wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a rather cynical stray kitten. He finds his way into the home of an English teacher, where his running commentary on the follies and foibles of the people around him has been making readers laugh for more than a century.
A Cat, a Man, and Two Women, Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, translated by Paul McCarthy
Shinako has been ousted from her marriage by her husband Shozo and his younger lover Fukuko. She’s lost her home, status and respectability, but the only thing she longs for is Lily, the elegant tortoiseshell cat she shared with her husband. As Shinako pleads for Lily’s return, Shozo’s reluctance to part with the cat reveals his true affection and the lengths he’ll go to hold onto the one he loves most. A small masterpiece, A Cat, a Man, and Two Women (1937) is a study of Japanese society and manners, and an oddball comedy about a love triangle in which the only real rival is a feline.
Oh Tama!, Mieko Kanai, translated by Tomoko Aoyama and Paul McCarthy
Oh, Tama!, published in 1987 in Japan, describes the haphazard lives of Natsuyuki Kanemitsu and his loosely connected circle of dysfunctional acquaintances and family. Natsuyuki is prevailed upon by his friend Alexandre, an occasional porn-film actor, to adopt the very pregnant cat Tama, who gives birth and remains throughout the novel as a silent observer of her human hosts.
Further complications arise surrounding the mystery of who the father of Alexandre’s sister Tsuneko’s unborn child is, with Tsuneko (a bar owner) happy to collect money from anyone who may be responsible. One of these possible dads turns out to be Natsuyuki’s half-brother, abandoned and forgotten long ago as easily as Tama has parted with her kittens.
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin
In Murakami’s 1994 novel, Toru Okada’s cat has disappeared.
His wife is growing more distant every day.
Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving.
As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada’s vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.
The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide, translated by Eric Selland
In this 2001 novel, a couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo. They work at home as freelance writers. They no longer have very much to say to one another.
One day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. She is a beautiful creature. She leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. New, small joys accompany the cat; the days have more light and colour.
Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife; they go walking together, talk and share stories of the cat and its little ways, play in the nearby garden. But then something happens that will change everything again…
The Blanket Cats, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Is three days with a cat enough to change your life?
The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all have their problems – and they all want to believe that a feline companion from a unique pet shop can help them find a solution. But there are rules: they must be returned after three days, and they must always sleep in their own familiar blankets.
In The Blanket Cats (2008), we meet seven such customers, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.
But like all their kind, the blanket cats are mysterious creatures with their own unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn’t what they really need.
Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it might be enough to change how you see it.
If Cats Disappeared From the World, Genki Kawamura, translated by Eric Selland
A young postman’s days are numbered in this 2012 novel. Estranged from his family and living alone with only his cat, Cabbage, to keep him company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can tackle his bucket list, the devil shows up to make him an offer: In exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, the postman will be granted one extra day of life. And so begins a very strange week that brings the young postman and his beloved cat to the brink of existence. With each object that disappears, the postman reflects on the life he’s lived, his joys and regrets, and the people he’s loved and lost.
The Cat Who Saved Books, Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, and all of them were crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse.
After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. In this 2017 novel, this odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people who have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone.
The Goodbye Cat, Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel
Against changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners’ lives.
A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby
An elderly cat hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together forever
A colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a young boy not to stand in nature’s way
A family is perplexed by their cat’s devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father
A woman curses at how her cat constantly visits her at night
Bursting with empathy and love, The Goodbye Cat (2023) explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down.
She and Her Cat, Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
On the outskirts of Tokyo, local cats weave their way through the lives and homes of their owners as they navigate difficult times.
A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship
A gifted artist fatally misunderstands her boss’s enthusiasm for her paintings
A manga fan shuts herself away after the death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside
A woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her cat.
Against the urban backdrop of humming trains and private woes, She and Her Cat (2023) explores the gentle magic of the everyday.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop, Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Under a glittering full moon, a Kyoto coffee shop with no fixed location or fixed hours appears only where and when it’s needed. It is run by talking cats serving the finest teas and coffees, delicious desserts and age-old astrological wisdom.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop attracts customers who have lost their way in their life, from a down-on-her-luck screenwriter to a failed video game developer. In this 2024 novel, in the middle of the night, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths.
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, Syou Ishida, translated by E Madison Shimoda
On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few – those who feel genuine emotional pain – can find it.
The mysterious centre offers a unique treatment for its troubled patients: it prescribes cats as medication.
Get ready to fall in love with We’ll Prescribe You a Cat (2024) as Bee, an eight-year-old female, mixed breed who helps a disheartened businessman as he finds unexpected joy in physical labour; Margot, muscly like a lightweight boxer, helps a middle-aged centre worker stay relevant; Koyuki, an exquisite white cat brings closure to a mother troubled by the memory of the rescue kitten she was forced to abandon; Tank and Tangerine bring peace to a hardened fashion designer, as she learns to be kinder to herself; and Mimita, the Scottish Fold kitten helps a broken-hearted Geisha to stop blaming herself for the cat she once lost.
Mangas
A Man and His Cat, Uma Sakurai
A kitten languishes in a pet shop, unwanted and unloved. Even as his price drops with each passing day, no one spares him a glance unless it’s to call him names. Having practically given up on life, the kitty himself is most shocked of all when an older gentleman comes into the store and wants to take him home! Will the man and the cat find what they’re looking for in each other?
Yon and Mu, Junji Ito
Junji Ito, J-kun, has recently built a new house and has invited his fiancee, A-ko, to live with him. Little did he know that his blushing bride-to-be has some unexpected company in tow – Yon, a ghastly-looking family cat, and Mu, an adorable Norwegian forest cat. Despite being a dog person, J-kun finds himself persuaded by their odd cuteness and thus begins his comedic struggle to gain the affection of his new feline friends.
