Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Transparent CatAuthor: Unno Juza

Original Title	透明猫
Author	海野十三
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	On a misty evening along a windswept cliffside path, young Aoji encounters an unsettling cry from the weeds—a cat’s meow with no visible source. Drawn by curiosity, he discovers glowing orbs floating in the grass: the eyes of an invisible feline. Though trembling with fear, Aoji rescues the creature, sensing warmth and weight in his arms as if cradling air. But bringing the phantom cat home unleashes an uncanny transformation—his own body begins fading from sight, his reflection blurring like smoke. Desperate to hide his condition, he flees into the city, where a opportunistic stranger sees profit in exhibiting the "Transparent Cat." As crowds flock to touch the marvel, a chilling contagion spreads—shadows dissolve, faces vanish, panic erupts. Aoji grapples with guilt and dread, torn between reclaiming his vanishing self and understanding the creature’s eerie origins. What began as a boy’s act of kindness spirals into a race against an invisible force threatening to erase humanity itself—unless Aoji can unravel the mystery binding him to the spectral feline before he disappears forever.