You see, I’m from such an extremely rigorous samurai family that I was beaten to death when I brought a stray cat home when I was a kid. So this really is a dream come true to me: having a sake with this amazing cat I imported from overseas, by the fireplace, listening to piano jazz on a Friday night.

They tell me I’m crazy paying 2K USD to fly an injured street cat I happened to rescue, but there’s something more important that doesn’t require practical logic: We call this in Japanese “en”, meaning, a karmic bond lasting a lifetime.