A Cat, a Man, and Two Women: Stories

“Considering all I’ve sacrificed, is it too much to ask for one little cat in return?”

Shinako has been ousted from her marriage by her husband Shozo and his younger lover Fukuko. She’s lost everything: her home, status, and respectability. Yet 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 affections, and the lengths he’ll go to hold onto the one he loves most.

A small masterpiece, A Cat, a Man, and Two Women is a novel about loneliness, love, and companionship of the most unexpected kind. In this story of Japanese society and manners, Tanizaki gives us a perfectly-formed oddball comedy, and a love triangle in which the only real rival is feline.

Also includes the stories "The Little Kingdom" and "Professor Rado."

A Cat, a Man, and Two Women was first published in the magazine Kaizo in 1936 as Neko to Shozo to futari no onna; “The Little Kingdom” in the magazine Chugai in 1918 as Chiisana okoku; Part I of “Professor Rado” in Kaizo in 1925 as Rado sensei; and Part II in Shincho in 1928 as Zoku Rado sensei. - from Copyright Page