With those piercing eyes and flicks of the tail, house cats observe domesticity poetically, and with sass

“My first time, it wasn’t just kittens that I birthed, but also me as a mother. So, in raising them, I’m also raising myself…and both are serious business, let me tell you.”

These are the simple musings of a house cat, sprawled on a veranda in the sun, while birds flit and flutter by. These are also the personal reflections of cartoonist Yamada Murasaki.

While Yamada’s books Talk To My Back and Second Hand Love engaged candidly with the trials of marriage, motherhood, and romance, Sassy Cats pads around similar terrain with the poetry of soft, feline paws.

Originally serialized from 1979 to 1980 in the legendary alternative magazine Garo, Sassy Cats is a classic of both feminist manga and Japanese cat literature. This English edition is translated by Ryan Holmberg and includes an essay by the artist’s daughter Yamada Yu about her mom, cats, and growing up with a single-mother cartoonist.