I Am a Cat 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, and
the aping of Western customs.Sōseki's original title, Wagahai wa neko de aru,
uses very high register phrasing more appropriate to a nobleman, conveying a
grandiloquence and self-importance intended to sound ironic, since the speaker,
an anthropomorphised domestic cat, is a house cat, not feral.
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 of
the stories can stand alone as a discrete work. The serial was eventually
compiled into a book edition of three volumes. 1911 marked the
first year the complete work was published in a single volume.
In the mid-1970s, the prolific screenwriter Toshio Yasumi
adapted Sōseki's novel into a screenplay. Kon Ichikawa directed the film, which
premiered in Japanese cinemas in 1975.
