I Am a Cat
Satirical 1905–1906 novel by Natsume Sōseki / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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I Am a Cat (Japanese: 吾輩は猫である, Hepburn: Wagahai wa Neko de Aru) is a satirical novel written in 1905–1906 by Natsume Sōseki about Japanese society during the Meiji period (1868–1912), particularly the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions.
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Author | Natsume Sōseki |
---|---|
Original title | Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (吾輩は猫である) |
Translator | Aiko Ito and Graeme Wilson |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Genre | Satirical novel |
Publication date | 1905–1906 |
Published in English | 1972 by Tuttle Publishing |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
ISBN | 978-0-8048-3265-6 |
OCLC | 49703480 |
LC Class | PL812.A8 W313 2002 |
Sōseki'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 Sōseki's love for droll writing.
The book was first published in ten installments in the literary journal Hototogisu. At first, Sōseki 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 Sōseki to serialize the work, which evolved stylistically as the installments progressed. Nearly all the chapters can stand alone as discrete works.[1]