Feeling lost? Every Bookshop Needs a Cat might be just the comfort read for you

“If you’re going to run a shop here in Onomichi, you absolutely need one or two cat regulars, especially if it is a bookshop.”

— Every Bookshop Needs a Cat by Takuya Asakura (translated by Yuka Maeno)

Every Bookshop Needs a Cat is a woman’s journey towards self-discovery. Amane Morikawa inherits her grandfather’s second-hand bookstore, Tamaurado, in Onomichi, “a town by the sea, a town of alleyways and steep slopes; a town of stories,” and, as the prologue of the book puts it, “a town of cats.”

Morikawa, who has always been passionate about books and reading, works in publishing in Tokyo. Although she grew up in Onomichi, she has not been there in a while. The moment she unlocks the store, that uncanny feeling of being watched creeps over her. After a few minutes, she realises it is the cats.

“Cats. All around the shop, cats were watching her. However many there were, each gaze was suspicious, tinged with disapproval.”

Finding connection

Morikawa has no idea whether the cats are pets (there seem to be too many of them) or whether they started visiting the bookstore after her grandfather’s death. As she gets more familiar with the town and the store, she discovers more about the cats and, by extension, about herself. She meets Takasaka, a clockmaker who cares for the cats and a large grandfather clock in the bookstore, on top of which sleeps a large black cat she later learns is called Sensei.

An AI-generated image of Tamaurado Books, featuring the protagonist and the black cat Sensei resting on the grandfather clock, and a view of Onomichi’s slopes and harbor outside. (Generated using AI/For representational purposes only)

She also meets a former classmate, reconnects with her best friend (with whom she fell out after her wedding), and learns about a CD and record store whose owner is a David Bowie fan. And everywhere she goes, she is inevitably followed by, or meets, some of the cats that seem to have made her bookstore their home (they come and go using a cat flap in the back door). One day, with a little help from the cats, she discovers a secret compartment that contains a manuscript that fascinates her.

Finding oneself

Morikawa decides to publish the manuscript and, as a result, returns to book publishing, a field she always loved and also decides to reopen the old bookstore and restock it. In the process, she finds her way in life, rekindling old friendships, building new ones, and finally ending up where she always wanted to be—in a bookstore, bringing out books. And keeping a watchful eye on her, right through it all, are several cats at the bookstore and in the town. In fact, one of them even narrates part of the tale from time to time.

Every Bookshop Needs a Cat is about people finding their way through difficult lives—apart from Morikawa, there is her best friend, a divorced mother (whose child is nicknamed Shiori, Japanese for bookmark), another friend who runs a cafe but wants to be a photographer, and her former employer, who is trying to start a new publishing house specialising in autobiographies.

A classic comfort read

​At 280 pages, Every Bookshop Needs a Cat is an easy read that slots into the “Japanese comfort fiction” category popular these days. It is not a feverish page-turner, but a gentle sea breeze moving through a town. At times, it drifts, and some characters don’t feel fully fleshed out, but nevertheless it contains passages of brilliance, the sort you will find yourself underlining to re-read again, such as: ​

“Ideals are something you should put into words every now and then. Because when you do, they come back to life…ideals need nurturing, too. Ever so often, you need to breathe life into them…”​

Every Bookshop Needs a Cat will strike a chord with those feeling a little lost. We do, however, wish there had been more about cats. They are a consistent presence, but more spectators than key players, even if they sometimes make things happen. One is left wondering, as Sensei says:

“Do cats have nine lives?
Yes and no.
Can cats live a million times?
Yes and no.
That is about all I can say for certain. But one thing at least is true: I still exist here in this shop. And perhaps it is enough simply to know that.”

Every Bookshop Needs a Cat

By Takuya Asakura
Harper Collins
285 pp
Rs 550