Bakeneko
化け猫
A Bakeneko was a
cat with similar shape shifting abilities to the Kitsune (fox spirit).
It would normally resemble an
ordinary cat standing on its back legs, with three or more tails (as well as its
split-tailed form – see Nekomata), and would sometimes be several times the
size of a tiger.
The Bakeneko is also said to take
human-like form to achieve its goals. Sometimes this would be done in a
malicious way – by eating people and stealing their identities – there are
still legends all over Japan that refer to them as good spirits, wishing to help
the humans that have cared for them in the past.
Stories
exist of cats taking the form of women and girls in order to become wives for
lonely male owners, or daughters to childless couples!
How a normal cat is supposed to become a bakeneko varies a
bit from story to story. For most, it requires that the cat has had a long life
and that it has lived and been fed in the same place for that time, becoming
particularly large - but the theories of how long and how large differ greatly.
The bakeneko
is often blamed for licking the oil out of andon
lamps, and since old-fashioned lamp oil was often made from fish, this doesn't
seem at all surprising!
Nekomata
猫股
This
is an old bakeneko with a tail that has split in two (distinguishable from
having two tails, since they join before they reach the body). The literal
translation of Neko-mata is "Forked cat". Again, these cats have become
quite big – some are said to be about one and a half meters long (not
including tail) – and walk upon their back legs.
Cats are often associated with death in Japanese, and this particular spirit
may be to blame. Far darker and malevolent than most Bakeneko, the Nekomata is
said to have powers of necromancy, and upon raising the dead, will control them
with ritual-like dances - gesturing with paw and tail.
The older, and the more badly treated a cat has been before its transformation, the more power the Nekomata is said to have. To gain revenge
against those who have wronged it, the spirit may haunt humans with visitations
from their dead relatives.
Like bakeneko, some tales state how Nekomata have taken on human appearance – but have usually appeared as older women, behaving badly in public, and
bringing gloom and malevolence wherever they travelled.
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Manekineko
招き猫
The famous ceramic beckoning feline which is used as a good-luck charm
for shopkeepers all over the world.
A cat from a poor temple was said to
have beckoned a rich man away from a tree that was about to be struck by
lightning. The man was so grateful, that he became the temple's benefactor.
There is also a tale of a cat who appeared in a dream
to its poverty-stricken mistress, telling her to manufacture its image in clay
in order to bring her wealth (which must have worked – whoever manufactures
those things must earn a lot!).
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A Catgirl version of the Manekineko |
Kasha
火車
This was the name of a type of
demon with feline form. It would come from the sky and steal the bodies of the
dead. It was often feared that a pet cat belonging to someone who had recently
died would turn into such a creature.
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