Yokai Cats Vol. 1

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One person who assisted in the widespread popularity of yokai during the Edo period was Toriyama Sekien, a printmaker who became known as the father of the very first definitive encyclopedia of yokai monsters to ever exist. Continuing on from the Two Tailed Cat’s story of origin, as the belief that once your cat grows old of age it will transform into a Nekomata spread, people started to put a “time limit” on their pet cats or chop off their tails so it won’t split into two. In Makidani, Yamasaki, Shisō District, Harima Province (now within Shisō, Hyōgo Prefecture), a tale was passed down about a person in Karakawa who was a bakeneko. The same kind of tale was also found in Taniguchi, Fukusaki village, Jinsai District, of the same province, where it is said that in Kongōjō-ji, a bakeneko who troubled a villager was killed by someone from the temple. This bakeneko was protected from arrows and bullets by a chagama 's lid and an iron pot. These, like the legend of Susanoo's extermination of Yamata no Orochi, have a commonality in that the local old families of the area played a role. [5]

As a manga translator, Davisson was nominated for the 2014 Japanese-US Friendship Commission Translation Prize for his translation of the multiple Eisner Award-winning SHOWA: A HISTORY OF JAPAN. Other acclaimed translations include Satoshi Kon’s OPUS and THE ART OF SATOSHI KON, Mamoru Oshii’s SERAPHIM: 266613336 WINGS, Leiji Matsumoto’s QUEEN EMERALDAS, Kazuhiro Fujita’s THE GHOST AND THE LADY, Go Nagai’s CUTIE HONEY, and Gou Tanabe’s Eisner Award-nominated HP LOVECRAFT’S THE HOUND AND OTHER TALES. In the mountain recesses, there are those called nekomata, and people say that they eat humans… Tsurezuregusa, Yoshida Kenko, c. 1331 This sea creature is usually described as having a huge dark head that just appears out of the water. It’s said that when it appears, it will break through any boat that is nearby and kill its passengers. This frightening yokai is known to haunt homes and all the humans living in it. It can also devour the master of the home and take his place as the head of the household. Since the Edo period, it has become generally believed that domestic cats turn into nekomata as they grow old, and mountainous nekomata have come to be interpreted as cats that have run away to live in the mountains. As a result, throughout Japan a folk belief developed that cats should not be kept for long periods. [1]In the book Yamato Kaiiki ( 大和怪異記, engl. "Mysterious stories from Japan"), written by an unknown author in 1708, one story speaks of a rich samurai's haunted house where the inhabitants witnessed several poltergeist activities. Attempting to end those events, the samurai called upon countless shamans, priests and evokers; but none of them could locate the source of the terror. One day, one of the most loyal servants saw his master's aged cat carrying in its mouth a shikigami with the samurai's name imprinted on it. Immediately shooting a sacred arrow, the servant hit the cat in its head; and as it lay dead on the floor, everyone could see that the cat had two tails and therefore had become a nekomata. With its death, the poltergeist activities ended. Similar eerie stories about encounters with nekomata appear in books such as Taihei Hyakumonogatari ( 太平百物語, engl. Collection of 100 fairy tales), written by Yusuke ( 祐佐, or Yūsa) in 1723 and in Rōō Chabanashi ( 老媼茶話, Tea-time gossip of old ladies), by Misaka Daiyata ( 三坂大彌), 1742. Similar to the Kasa-obake, the Nurikabe is yet another yokai that is not an animal. Instead, the word ‘nurikabe’ literally translates to plastered wall, and that’s exactly how the Nurikabe yokai is depicted! Imagine a dull, grey wall with arms and legs and you’ve got yourself the Nurikabe. It's also not clear where some of the excerpts come from (particularly those that start the chapters) and it's my impression they may be the author's invention -- which can be fine to get the right sense across to the reader and introduce an idea, but since this book is specifically about Japanese folklore (and presenting as an authority on Kaibyo), I wish it was made clear whether anything was created, and if so: what was original; how much was derived but written in the author's own words; and why it was included as it was. Without that clarity, there is some danger in how these bits might be interpreted by readers present and future (i.e., as specific examples of Japanese folklore when they may more accurately be interpretive representations or suggestions of it). Fun, easy read. The visual layout of the text is excellent. Having virtually no familiarity with the specific subject on my way in, I do get the sense that it covers the fundamentals. The author appears to know his history, writes succinctly and with authority but is simultaneously very approachable, and doesn't dance around anything -- If he doesn't know something, he says it outright.

The bakeneko ( 化け猫, "changed cat") is a type of Japanese yōkai, or supernatural entity; more specifically, it is a kaibyō, or supernatural cat. [2] It is often confused with the nekomata, another cat-like yōkai. [3] The distinction between them is often ambiguous, but the largest difference is that the nekomata has two tails, while the bakeneko has only one. At the same time, in the Kokon Chomonjū of the Kamakura period, in the story "Kankyō Hōin ( 観教法印)", an old cat raised in a villa on a mountain precipice held a secret treasure, a protective sword, in its mouth and ran away. People chased the cat, but it disguised itself and left behind the thought of the cat becoming a monster. In the aforementioned "Tsurezuregusa", in addition to nekomata that conceal themselves in the mountains, there are descriptions of pet cats that grow old, transform, and eat and abduct people. [3] Appearance: One particularly monstrous breed of bakeneko is the two-tailed variety known as nekomata. Nekomata are found in cities and villages and are born in the same way as other bakeneko. However, only the oldest, largest cats with the longest tails—and thus the most intelligence—become this powerful variety. When a nekomata transforms into a yōkai, its tail splits down the center into two identical tails. These monster cats are most likely seen walking around on their hind legs and speaking human languages. As they gain their supernatural powers, Nekomata start to grow in size. They walk on their hind legs and use human language. Here is an image of two transformed nekomata. The older, experienced one, is teaching the younger to walk on its hind legs.The Aka Manto yokai is a malevolent evil spirit that haunts public or school toilets, awaiting its next young victim. It is said that once the Aka Manto spirit selects its victim and presents itself, there is no escaping. Some say the second type of two tailed cats were runaway cats that transformed into Nekomata after having made the mountain its new home. Bakeneko has sometimes been translated as ‘Monster Cat’ or ‘Ghost Cat’, but the best definition in English may simply be ‘Changing Cat.’ The mythological Bakeneko are yōkai(supernatural creatures) that allegedly begin as regular domestic cats. Legends say that as cats get older they change. The process starts with them walking on their hind legs, although with time the cats gain more powers and grow larger (even to the size of a human), they then have the ability to change their forms and sometimes peak human languages. The Gashadoruko is one of the scariest yokai known to mankind. It is depicted as a gigantic skeleton (think up to 15 times the size of humans!), and its bones are made up entirely of people who have died in the past but haven’t been buried properly. For example, they passed of starvation during a famine. Matcha Admin. (2019, October 1). The Kagurazaka Bakeneko Festival: Become a cat and join the parade (C. Mischke, Trans.). Matcha. https://matcha-jp.com/en/6661

Right from the start, I loved this book. The front cover is a work of art in itself and feels gorgeous to hold - always a key factor for me when reading books of this nature. Inside, the quality is no different; there's a multitude of full-colour illustrations from different eras of Japanese history - from the Edo period to the modern day. The Zashiki-Warashi are house spirits that take on a child-like form. They are described as looking like 6-year-olds with blushing faces. They are cheeky and friendly and often reside in the reception areas of traditional Japanese homes.

The Mythical Bakeneko

The mysterious Bakeneko prostitutes apparently rose as an urban legend from the case of a Bakeneko that was supposedly “working as a meshimori onna, a type of low-rent waitress/maid/prostitute, at the Ise Inn in the Shinagawa-juku area of Edo, one of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō sea highway” in the late 1700s. This legendary yokai is said to have one of the most bone-chilling cries, and it will usually appear during the dead of the night. Once you hear its shrill cries, you known that disaster is coming. During the Edo Period (17th – mid-19th century), people began to believe that nekomata weren’t just beasts that haunted the deep mountain hollows, but things that could invade your own home [4, 5, 10, 11]. It came to be accepted that the tails of old cats would split into two, they would gain magic powers, and they would become the malevolent nekomata [4, 5, 9-11]. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14 . Retrieved 2012-11-03. {{ cite web}}: External link in |publisher= ( help)

There are legends of bakeneko in various parts of Japan, but the tale of the Nabeshima Bakeneko Disturbance in Saga Prefecture is especially famous. Yokai (妖怪) is the Japanese word for “demons”. It does not refer to the Western world’s image of a demon, called akuma (悪魔) in Japanese, but to a class of supernatural beings and spirits that originate from Japan.

Cat Prostitutes Strike Fear

Bakemono are created from a cat’s vengeance and hatred; Two Tailed Cats are from the wild or elderly cats transform into them. It is an evil spirit that presents itself in front of lost travelers, preventing them from finding their way and eventually getting lost forever. Although not the scariest looking yokai, it’s definitely one of the most inconvenient! The Japanese Kitsune spirit has been the inspiration of many pop culture characters and references, in part because of its ability to shape-shift into stunning women! International Research Center for Japanese Studies, “ 山猫”“ 山猫” Yokai Terminology: Kaibyo is Cat Yokai Marak, Katarzyna (2014). Japanese and American Horror: A Comparative Study of Film, Fiction, Graphic Novels and Video Games. McFarland & Company. p.101. ISBN 978-0786496662.