Apparently it took 6 years to complete this painting. The artist did not paint the subject unless he was actually looking at the target.... In "Memories of Tallow" by Jirojiro, he wrote that the cat takes this pose and sleeps like this for only about 9 minutes on only a few days in mid-September each year. It seems to depend on the temperature and cat's feeling. Therefore, "I have to wait until September next year to continue the painting." He was so keen to show the beauty of the cat's that he forgot to paint the whiskers. He added whiskers on one side, but while waiting for the next year, Taro seems to have died from old age. [Elsewhere is reported that the whiskers were later painted on.] Rinjiro's work increases its accuracy and maturity every year. Especially the ones after the 60 's are wonderful. His works are all small... [Slightly edited Google translation of text at http://walkby.blog.fc2.com/blog-category-5.html] http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/site/museum-en/collection1.html