Cat and Mouse

The Japanese have long delighted in the idea of animals parodying human actions. In this painting, the cat daintily offers a hot pepper with his chopsticks, knowing that it will make the foolish mouse gulp his sake. Oblivious of danger, the mouse tips the red and black cup to his lips. In the foreground stands a double gourd, used to decant the strong rice wine that is the cause of the mouse's reckless abandon and, ultimately, the cat's good fortune. The inscriptions reinforce the moralistic theme of the work: disaster awaits those who forget themselves and drink too much:

More than just deceived, [the mouse]

gleefully dances, and then is caught

The mind that does not heed danger

causes the body to be caught

Unwittingly befriended by the cat

who plies him with sake

the mouse drinks, slurp, slurp

Those who imitate the sages' teachings

will eventually ruin others' lives.