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/lit/ - Literature

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File: 21 KB, 200x333, 200px-Tuttle_1992_So-sekiNatsume_IAmaCat_cover.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5371440 No.5371440 [Reply] [Original]

Thoughts on this?

>> No.5371593

It was supposed to be really funny, but I only smiled at some of the situations.

Of all the japanese literature I've read I think this was the most hard to overcome the cultural wall - actually I think I didn't overcome at all.

>> No.5371773
File: 57 KB, 500x667, cat.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5371773

>> No.5371804

>>5371773
This would make me sad but every cat I've ever had just wanted to be left the fuck alone and hated when people bothered them.

>> No.5371806

>>5371773
being a cat is a social construct

>> No.5371827

>>5371804
It's puzzling to me that Natsume would go with a cat since these character traits are so un-Japanese. Not that they're craven for attention, but Japanese society is so far away from the standoffishness of a cat.

>> No.5371837

>>5371827

What animal embodies the japanese in your mind?

>> No.5371842

Oh hey hopefully this shows up soon.

>> No.5371845

>>5371773
this is always making me sad

>> No.5371846
File: 91 KB, 800x688, OctopusPORCOP16[1].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5371846

>>5371837

>inb4 this

>> No.5371850

>>5371773
Holy shit the fucking borderline crazy depression is penetrating through the image

>> No.5371854

>>5371827
>Japanese society is so far away from the standoffishness of a cat

u wot m8? they literally had no contact with the outside world for centuries then when Westerners came over trying to trade with them they refused to open their country to the outside world until they were forced to

They're not so much like this today, but at the time Natsume wrote this they still very much were.

>> No.5371855
File: 7 KB, 249x244, 1406649133645s.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5371855

>>5371837
sadfrogs

>> No.5371867

>>5371854
unless you imagine the cat as the whole japanese society

but the cat should be understood as a colony of cells where each japanese is a single specialized cell

>> No.5371868

>>5371837
Hmm, haven't thought about that. The koi and the crane come to mind, but that's more symbolic than temperamental of course. The sociability and friendliness of the dog come to mind, but I wouldn't want someone to have something negative come to mind with the association. All of this is geared toward characteristics of the society, too; I don't mean to be generalizing. I'm just saying that cat-like standoffishness isn't characteristic of Japanese society; even if a gaijin were never fully integrated into society, he wouldn't get the cold shoulder from everyone.

>> No.5371872

>>5371854
This is a good point in terms of foreign relations at the time the book was written (early-20th century). Within the society itself, though, the point about openness and cohesiveness would still be valid.

>> No.5371880

>>5371867
>unless you imagine the cat as the whole japanese society

You mean today? Cause as a whole today Japan doesn't really have that isolated attitude anymore except in military affairs, though they even recently changed their constitution to allow them to get involved in those too.

On an individual level today though Japanese people still have a higher degree of isolation and other catlike qualities than the average westerner though.

>> No.5372041

>>5371804
well it's SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN that cats do not love you and are self-serving manipulators

>>5371827
>It's puzzling to me that Natsume would go with a cat
then you should have done some research on Japanese culture and mythology before delving into their literature. What makes you think you could pick up a work from a completely different culture and pick up on everything?

>The koi and the crane come to mind, but that's more symbolic than temperamental of course. The sociability and friendliness of the dog come to mind, but I wouldn't want someone to have something negative come to mind with the association. All of this is geared toward characteristics of the society, too; I don't mean to be generalizing. I'm just saying that cat-like standoffishness isn't characteristic of Japanese society; even if a gaijin were never fully integrated into society, he wouldn't get the cold shoulder from everyone.
orientalist pig

>> No.5372045

>>5372041
forgot my links
>The reason that cats are seen as yōkai in Japanese mythology is attributed to many of the characteristics that they possess: for example, the way the irises of their eyes change shape depending on the time of day, the way their fur seems to cause sparks due to static electricity when they are petted (especially in winter), the way they sometimes lick blood, the way they can walk without making a sound, their wild nature that remains despite the gentleness they can show at times, the way they are difficult to control (unlike dogs), the sharpness of their claws and teeth, their nocturnal habits, and their speed and agility.[3][4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakeneko

Cats are real big in Japan

>> No.5372060

>>5372041
>then you should have done some research on Japanese culture and mythology before delving into their literature. What makes you think you could pick up a work from a completely different culture and pick up on everything?
Never said I could. And I do have some familiarity.

>> No.5373713
File: 778 KB, 196x207, breaking-down.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5373713

>>5371773
I...fuck.