A beloved Japanese modern classic about our special connection with cats and how they can change our lives over the course of a lifetime


On a cool summer evening in 1977, Mayumi Inaba hears a forlorn cry. She follows the sound to the banks of Tokyo’s Tamagawa River and finds a newborn kitten dangling from a fence, abandoned. Overcome by tender affection, she takes the cat back to the small apartment she shares with her husband and christens her Mii: so begins an unshakeable bond.

Over the next twenty years, we follow Inaba, a poet and novelist by moonlight, as she pursues quiet solitude and a room of her own. Through it all, Mii, a fiercely independent creature in her own right, is her confidante and muse.

This beloved Japanese modern classic is not just a love letter to companionship: it’s a poignant, searching meditation on the forces that enable us to connect, to create and to build a life.



Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

Review

[A] gentle meditative narrative… Inaba muses on her own life…and has to confront mortality… Cat lovers, prepare to weep ― The Times, *Book of the Month*

Supernaturally insightful and aglow with incidental joys, Mornings Without Mii uncovers something eternal about companionship, about being alone, and about cats -- Rivka Galchen, author of EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR MOTHER IS A WITCH

I have never read a book quite like this ... Profoundly real, specific, moving, and beautifully written -- Elif Batuman, author of EITHER/OR

This book is more than a tribute to a companion. It’s proof of a world normally concealed from humans, exposed here through the eyes of an artist -- Sloane Crosley, author of GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE

Skillfully translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori… Inaba has a poet’s eye for the natural world… The memoir documents not only one woman’s personal journey, but also the ineffable bond between human and animal as Inaba becomes guardian to Mii, then caretaker and, finally, mourner. ― Japan Times

Heartwarming... a beautiful read for cat lovers everywhere ― My Weekly

Mornings With My Cat Mii is beautiful (irrespective of one’s feelings towards cats) because Inaba is writing about love, the sort of love one could equally have for a human companion, about her pleasure in Mii’s company and ultimately, about grief. I read it in one sitting, and will likely go back and read it again. I thoroughly recommend it. -- Nicky Harman ― Books on Asia

A great love story, one that gathers strength as the beloved begins to decline ... This memoir reveals the profound respect, and compassion, that a friendship with an animal can inspire in a human being ― Sigrid Nunez, New Yorker

Mornings Without Mii is a meditative memoir about love, grief, writing, and cats. What a lovely book to curl up with -- Literary Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2025

A striking evocation of the way we meld our lives and hearts with a beloved creature -- Kirkus, Starred Review

About the Author

Mayumi Inaba (Author)
Mayumi Inaba (1950–2014) was a Japanese writer, editor and poet. She made her debut in 1973 with the short story ‘The Pain of Blue Shadows’, and she went on to write many novels and collections for which she won several awards, including the Kawabata Yasunari Prize. She was awarded the Tanizaki Prize for To the Peninsula. Inaba was well known for her love of cats.

Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)
Ginny Tapley Takemori is an award-winning translator based in rural Japan. She has translated works by writers including Sayaka
Murata, Kyoko Nakajima, and Mayumi Inaba.