The Cat Office” by Kenji Miyazawa

Near a certain rail depot was situated the 6th Office of the Ministry of Feline Affairs. This office dealt primarily with inquiries of feline history and geography.

The clerks all wore short coats of black satin, and were well-respected by all. Any time one of the clerks had to retire for any reason, each and every one the young cats in the area clamored to take his position.

However, the number of clerks in that office was always limited to four, so of those many, only the fellow who was most literate, with the neatest handwriting, was chosen.

The manager was a big black cat, who had become a little senile, but he was still sharp as a tack, so he was really quite respectable.

The workers beneath him were:

· the 1st clerk, a white cat

· the 2nd clerk, a tabby cat

· the 3rd clerk, a tortoiseshell cat

· the 4th clerk, a soot cat.

This so-called ‘soot’ cat was not born this way. He was born with some sort of regular coloring, but he had a habit of sleeping inside a hearth at night, and his fur always ended up filthy with soot. His nose and ears in particular were stained a deep black, so one might even say he somewhat resembled a tanuki.

Because of this, the soot cat was somewhat scorned by the other cats.

However, the head of this office, in any case, was a black cat, so this soot cat, who normally would never ever have had a chance at becoming a clerk, no matter how much he studied, was chosen from out of 40 applicants.

Manager Black Cat plopped down behind a red felt-covered table in the middle of the large office, with White Cat the First and Tortoiseshell Cat the Third on his right, and Tabby Cat the Second and Soot Cat the Fourth on his left, each sitting neatly in their own little chair at their own little table.

So if you should ever ask, what is geography and history to a cat?,

Well, it’s like this:

There was a knock at their office door.

“Enter!” Manager Black Cat shouted, reclining with his hands in his pockets.

The four clerks kept their heads down, flipping busily through their notebooks.

A extravagant cat entered the office.

“What is your business?” asked the manager.

“I would like to visit the Bering region to eat some arctic mice. Could you tell me which is the best place to go?”

“Yes. First clerk, tell us where arctic mice live.”

The first clerk opened up a thick notebook with blue binding and answered,

“Usteragominyy, Novaskaya, and the area of the Puzha River.”

The manager said to the extravagant cat, “Usteragominyy, Nova… What was it called?”

“Novaskaya,” the first clerk and the extravagant cat said in unison.

“Yeah, Novaskaya, and then what?!”

“The Puzha River,” the extravagant cat and the first clerk said in unison once more, embarrassing the manager.

“Right right, the Puzha River. Well… guess that’s the place then.”

“So could you give me any advisories about traveling there?”

“Sure. Second clerk, tell me if there are any advisories about traveling in the Bering region.”

“Yessir.” The second clerk flipped through his own notebook. “Summer cats mustn’t travel there.” As he said this, for some reason, everyone glanced at the soot cat.

“There is also a dire warning for winter cats. There is a danger of being lured in by horse meat near Hakodate. Furthermore, when black cats in particular travel there without sufficiently distinguishing themselves as cats, they are often mistaken for black foxes, and hunted down.”

“Alright, it’s as he said. You are not a black cat such as myself, so you shouldn’t have any real trouble. Just be sure to keep clear of horse meat near Hakodate.”

“Well then, are there any persons of note in that area?”

“Third clerk, give me the names of any persons of note in the Bering area.”

“Yes, um, in the Bering area, yes, Tovaski, Gansoski, there are those two names.”

“Tovaski and Gansoski, what sort of fellows are they?”

“Fourth clerk, tell me about Tovaski and Gansoski.”

“Yessir.” The fourth clerk, the soot cat, had already placed one slender paw at the entries for Tovaski and Gansoski each. Both the manager and the extravagant cat seemed very impressed by this.

At this, the other three clerks glared at Soot Cat as if they had been slighted, and sneered. Soot read from his notebook the best he could.

“Chief Tovaski has great moral influence. He has a piercing gaze but he’s slow to speak. Wealthy Gansoski is a bit slow to speak but he has a piercing gaze.”

“Well, that’s all I need to know. Thank you.”

The extravagant cat left.

This way of things worked rather well for the cats. However, only half a year after this incident, the 6th Office was shut down. That is to say, I’m sure you’ve all realized this by now, but the fourth clerk, the soot cat, was greatly loathed by the three clerks above him. The third clerk in particular, Tortoiseshell, itched to do Soot’s work. Soot just wanted the others to think well of him somehow, so he worked hard at everything he did, but no matter what, he couldn’t change the situation.

For example, one day when the tabby cat, sitting beside Soot, placed his lunch on his desk and began to eat, he was suddenly struck by an attack of the yawns.

Tabby stretched his stubby arms as high as he could and gave a great yawn. As they were all cats, this wasn’t seen as any sign of disrespect—if he had been human, it would have been the kind of offense that would have gotten your whiskers pulled—but what was rude was when he pushed his table up, attempting to stretch his legs, and his lunch box slid off the table, clattering on the floor before the manager. It was a little beat up, but it was made of aluminum, so it didn’t break. Tabby hurriedly finished his stretch, and stretched his arms across the table, attempting to reach it, but it wasn’t clear if his hands would ever make it, and the lunch box slid here and there, and he never did catch it.

“It’s no use. You won’t reach it,” laughed Manager Black, chewing noisily on his bread. At the moment, Soot Cat had just opened the lid of his lunch box, but seeing the situation he stood at once, picked up the box from the floor, and handed it to Tabby Cat. Tabby suddenly became quite angry, and threw his hands up, not taking this box which the Soot had gone out of his way to hand over, and shouted, his body shaking,

“What is this? Are you saying I should eat this? Are you saying I should eat something that fell on the floor?!”

“No sir, I was merely picking it up for you, as you were trying to pick it up yourself.”

“And when was I trying to pick it up? Ah. I just thought it quite rude to drop something in front of the manager, so I was trying to push it under my own desk.”

“Oh I see. Still, the lunch box was sliding all over the place, so….”

“What impertinence. Are you trying to start someth—”

The manager gave a loud growl, interrupting so as not to let Tabby Cat start a fight. “Please cease your quarrel. Soot didn’t pick up the lunch box with the intention to make you eat from it. And perhaps you’ve forgotten, Tabby, but I told you this morning you were getting a 10-sen raise.”

At first, Tabby Cat appeared frightened, but listened with his head down, but soon he began to smile.

“Please forgive my rudeness, sir.” He glanced at Soot Cat beside him, and took his seat.

You know, I feel sorry for Soot.

Once again, 56 days after this incident, a similar thing occurred. This sort of thing happened often because, for one, cats are naturally lazy, and also their front legs—that is, their arms—are quite short. On this particular occasion it was the third clerk, Tortoiseshell Cat, sitting on the other side of the room, who, before he could start his work for the morning, let his pen slip and go rolling onto the floor. Tortoiseshell chose to spare himself the trouble of standing, and right away, as Tabby had, stretched his arms across the desk and tried to pick up the pen. Just as before, there was no way he could reach it. Tortoiseshell was particularly short, so he leaned forward, and soon his legs left his seat. Soot wasn’t sure whether he should pick it up, given what happened before, so he hesitated for some time, blinking dazedly, but soon he could no longer ignore it, and stood.

However, by this time, Tortoiseshell had leaned too far forward, and toppled from the desk, banging his head harshly. It made a dreadful sound, such that even Manager Black Cat stood in surprise, and took a bottle of ammonia from the shelf behind him to bring Tortoiseshell to. However, Tortoiseshell soon awoke, and abruptly, in a fit of confusion, shouted,

“Soot, you rat! How dare you shove me!?”

This time, however, the manager was quick to calm Tortoiseshell.

“No, Tortoiseshell, that was your fault.

“Soot merely stood to do you a favor, not to do you any harm. Still, it’s not that big of a deal. Anyway, um, Santontan’s change of address, yes…” The manager quickly returned to his work. Left with no other choice, Tortoiseshell too attended to his work, now and then glancing at Soot with a sinister gaze.

This was the way of things, so it was really quite distressing for Soot Cat.

In attempt to become an ordinary cat, Soot tried sleeping outside the window, but the night was much too cold and he couldn’t stop sneezing, and so he had no choice but to sleep in the hearth.

You may wonder why he got so cold; well it was because his skin was thin, and the reason his skin was thin was that he was born in midsummer. When Soot thought of this hopeless situation, and how there was nothing he could do about it, his round eyes filled with tears.

Even so, the manager was so kind to him, and he was happy to think that his colleagues at the office held such prestige, so even as he cried, Soot clenched his fists and thought to himself, No matter how hard it gets I won’t quit!, I can make it through this!

However, even the Manager could not always be counted on. By virtue of being a cat, he seemed wise, but he was really a fool. Once, Soot Cat caught a bad cold, and the joints in his legs swelled up to the size of softballs, so that he couldn’t even walk, and he had to take a day off. He didn’t even put up a fight. He just cried and cried and cried. While watching the yellow light that streamed in through a little window in his shed, he rubbed his eyes and cried the whole day through.

This is what happened in the office during that time:

“My goodness, Soot still hasn’t shown up today. He’s awfully late,” said the manager between tasks.

“Geez, he must have gone off to the beach to play or something,” said White Cat.

“No I’ll bet someone called him off to a party somewhere,” said Tabby Cat.

“There’s a party going on today?” the manager asked with a start. He didn’t think there was any cat who would throw a party and not invite him.

“I heard there was a school opening ceremony or something going on up north.”

“I see.” Black Cat grew silent and began to brood.

“Why on earth,” said Tortoiseshell, “is Soot Cat being invited so many places these days? I hear he’s been saying how no matter what, he’s going to be the next manager. So some cowardly fools are trying their hardest to curry favor with him.”

“Is this true!?” shouted Black.

“It is indeed true. Go see for yourself,” Tortoiseshell said with a frown.

“Inexcusable… That guy has been eyeing me a lot. Alright, I have a thought of my own.”

The office was deadly silent for some time after that.

And so, the next day:

The swelling in Soot Cat’s legs had finally gone down, so he woke up bright and early, and walked to the office through the howling wind. When he arrived, his beloved ledger, the cover of which he would stroke every morning, was no longer atop his desk, but divided between the desks of his three colleagues.

“Ah, they must have been busy yesterday,” he said to himself in a hoarse voice, his heart pounding inexplicably.

Clack. The door opened, and in came Tortoiseshell.

“Good morning,” Soot stood and greeted him, but Tortoiseshell just took his seat quietly, then leafed through his notebook as if he was incredibly busy. Clack. Slam. In came Tabby Cat.

“Good morning,” greeted Soot, as before, but Tabby wouldn’t even look his way.

“Good morning,” said Tortoiseshell.

“Morning. Some wind out there, huh.” Tabby began leafing through his notebook without delay.

Clack, slam! White Cat entered the office.

“Good morning,” Tabby and Tortoiseshell greeted in unison.

“Oh, morning. It’s quite windy out today.” White also took up his work busily. Soot stood listlessly and silently bowed, but White acted as if he didn’t even know him.

Clack, smack.

“Whew, my goodness it’s windy.” In came Manager Black. “Good morning.” The three quickly stood and bowed. Soot stood in a daze and bowed, averting his gaze.

“Seems to be a storm, yes,” said Black, not looking at Soot. Soon after he began his work.

“Well, we should continue yesterday’s inquiry of the Anmognac brothers. Second clerk, which of the Anmognac brothers went to the south pole?” Thus the work began. Soot watched them quietly. He had no ledger to work with. Even if he wanted to say something, he could not bring himself to speak.

“It was Pan and Polaris,” replied Tabby.

“Alright, tell me more about Pan and Polaris,” said Black.

Oh, but that’s my job, the details, the details, thought Soot, on the verge of tears.

“Pan and Polaris perished on Yap Island, while returning from an expedition to the south pole. Their frozen remains were buried at sea,” the first clerk, White Cat, read from Soot’s notes. Soot was sad, very sad, and his cheeks began to droop, but he watched them and endured it, holding back the tears.

The office steadily became busier and busier, and the work rolled along. Once in a while, each of them glanced Soot’s way, but they never said a word.

Noon rolled around. Soot didn’t even eat the lunch he brought with him, he just sat patiently and watched, his hands on his lap.

About an hour after noon, Soot began to sob. He cried on and off for three hours, until the sun began to set.

Still, the others continued their apparently interesting work, as if they did not notice at all.

At that time, though the cats were not aware of it, a lion’s austere golden face was observing them through the window behind the manager.

The lion had watched them suspiciously for some time, then without warning pounded on the door and came inside. I needn’t tell you how surprised the cats were. The lion sauntered around the office lazily. Only Soot stood to greet him, drying his tears.

The lion spoke in a loud, stern voice,

“Just what do you think you’re doing? You cats have no need for such geography and history. Cease this at once. Hmph. I’m closing this place down.”

And thus the office was dissolved.

…I half-agree with the lion.

猫の事務所

……ある小さな官衙に関する幻想……

宮沢賢治

　軽便鉄道の停車場のちかくに、猫の第六事務所がありました。ここは主に、猫の歴史と地理をしらべるところでした。
　書記はみな、短い黒の繻子(しゆす)の服を着て、それに大へんみんなに尊敬されましたから、何かの都合で書記をやめるものがあると、そこらの若い猫は、どれもどれも、みんなそのあとへ入りたがつてばたばたしました。
　けれども、この事務所の書記の数はいつもただ四人ときまつてゐましたから、その沢山の中で一番字がうまく詩の読めるものが、一人やつとえらばれるだけでした。
　事務長は大きな黒猫で、少しもうろくしてはゐましたが、眼などは中に銅線が幾重も張つてあるかのやうに、じつに立派にできてゐました。
　さてその部下の

一番書記は白猫でした、
二番書記は虎猫(とらねこ)でした、
三番書記は三毛猫でした、
四番書記は竃猫(かまねこ)でした。