Diary of a Cat by Mayumi Nagano

Author:Mayumi Nagano [Nagano, Mayumi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2025-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

5

Autumn

Picnic

All-you-can-stuff picnic basket

Black tea & coffee, herbal water

Cucumber sandwiches & meat pies

Steamed pork meatballs with mochi rice coating & pressed anago sushi

Ohagi (with mochi-awa)

Fig confiture & pomegranate vinegar

+

Crispy-grill of small horse mackerel (meow-food)

Every year around mid-October, Mum visits the cemetery to remember her late husband and the meow-friends who used to live with her before we came. People usually visit their ancestors’ graves in September around the Autumnal equinox during the week known as Higan, but her Higan visit happens a month later. Why? Because it’s still hot in September, with lots of mosquitoes buzzing around, so it’s not a great time for a picnic.

Whoever heard of putting together the Higan graveyard visit and a picnic? It’s a funny thing to do, but also just like Mum to think of it. There’s lots of green around Tama Cemetery, where Mr Dodo is sleeping. The park across the street has a wide grassy field, and a clump of tall trees called momijiba-suzukakenoki (also known as London planes) stands right in the middle of it. That’s her favourite picnic spot.

If it was just greenery she’s after, there’s a park near the Horai house, too. But Mum is especially fond of this park across from the cemetery because of the interesting topography, including a river, a terraced hill, a shallow valley and even a small mountain.

“But if you squint above the hill, you can make out the logo of a supermarket chain you can find anywhere in the country. It’s okay, though – we can just pretend we haven’t seen it. People formed dwellings here in the Jomon period, and the shape of the land, with all the ups and downs, hasn’t changed much since those prehistoric times. Of course, I suppose it doesn’t compare to where you’re from, with your Japanese Alps.”

Mum was talking to Tekona.

“You know what, though? It’s embarrassing to admit it, but I actually never noticed the scenery around me before I moved to Tokyo,” Tekona said. “I had zero interest in flowers and birds; as far as I was concerned, all the small ones were sparrows, the big ones were hawks and the black ones were crows. I couldn’t tell apart apple blossoms from cherry blossoms. And I was completely fine like that. My school was far away, so I had a long commute – and on top of that, I had club practice all the time. In the winter, I used to leave the house before dawn and get back after sunset, so I never hung out anywhere on the way. My friend and I just kept cycling on and on, yakking it up at full volume. And over the summer, I went on trips with the team for away games, training camp and things like that, so I wasn’t even home most of the time.”

“Er . . . was it handball you did?”

“That’s right. The girls’ team at my school was really strong. The school Darling went to was pretty strong too, so I’d see him often at national competitions.

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