The Supernatural Feline Legacy of Japan, and Its Royal Cats

Maneki Neko, the Japanese cat god

Japan: The Country Where Cats Are Revered

The Japanese were unfamiliar with cats until trading caravans began traversing the Silk Route, bringing Buddhism to Japan. Cats arrived in Japan as security guards for the Buddhist scrolls from India, killing rats that tried to eat the scrolls en route.

The interconnections of history are often strange, such as the cause-and-effect relationship between Japanese cats and Buddhism.

Cats entered Japan around the 8th century CE, traveling thousands of miles and guarding the Buddhist scrolls. It is no surprise they received a regal place in Japanese culture.

Initially, cats were kept as pets by emperors and the nobility, making them unavailable to ordinary people. The Japanese royal family has continued to keep cats as pets throughout history. Over time, Japanese culture embraced various supernatural cats and developed a rich cat mythology.

Emperor Uda who ruled Japan during the last decade of the 9th century CE was especially fond of cats. A long passage about his black cat has been translated and published from his diaries which are not fully translated yet. It reads as below,

“Now that I have a few spare moments I shall write a description of my cat. This black cat of mine has previously been given to the former emperor [koko] by Minamoto no Suguru, the Junior Assistant Governor General of Dazaifu, upon his return to the capital after completing his term of office. The emperor loved the colour of the cat’s fur, which is truly beyond compare. Other cats are light black colour, but this cat is dark black like a crow, and very much resembles the Chinese dog, “Blackie”.

“My cat is a foot and a half in length and about six inches in height. When he curls up, he is very small looking like a black millet berry, but when he stretches out, he is long, resembling a drawn bow. The pupils of his eyes sparkle, dazzlingly bright like shiny needles flashing with light, while the points of his ears stick straight up, unwaveringly, looking like the bowl of a spoon. When he crouches, he becomes a ball without feet, resembling a round jade taken from the depths of a cave. My cat moves silently, making not a single sound, like a black dragon above the clouds.

“By nature he has a preference for Taoist-style health practices and instinctively follows the “five-bird regimen”. He always keeps his head and tail low against the ground. But when he arches his back, he extends some two feet in height. His fur is lustrous, perhaps on account of his Taoist health practices. He is good at catching mice at night, better at it than other cats.

“The former emperor enjoyed the cat for several days and then gave him to me. I have cared for him now for five years. Every morning I give him milk gruel. It is not simply that I am impressed by the cat’s many talents; I have felt particularly keen to lavish the utmost care upon him, however insignificant such a creature may really be, because he was given to me by the former emperor. I once said to the cat, “You possess the forces of yin and yang and have a body that is the way it should be. I suspect that in your heart you may even know all about me!” Tha cat heaved a sigh, raised his head, and stared fixedly at my face, seeming so choked with emotion, his heart so full of feeling, that he could not say a thing in reply.” (Rabinovitch and Minegishi, web.archive.org)

This detailed description by an emperor about his cat is the first documented mention of a cat in Japan. It remains relatable to us, despite the centuries that separate his time from ours. It is a wonder that how we make connections with other species and project our emotions and life’s philosophy to them has not changed for all these centuries.

Emperor Ichijo and His Cats

In 999 CE, Emperor Ichijo ruled Japan. In his palace, a pure white cat gave birth to five pure white kittens, which all took as an auspicious event. The Emperor ruled that the kittens were to be brought up giving them all the care that princesses of the royal family enjoy.

Most stories about Emperor Ichigo’s cat and kitten describe how he entrusted many court ladies with their care and how he imprisoned the owner of a dog that chased his cat.

The Japanese Bobtail Cats

Bobtail cats have a short tail that resembles a rabbit’s tail. This breed is not originally from Japan but from China or Southeast Asia. These cats have a special place in Japanese culture and lore. The ‘maneki-neko’ or beckoning cat is a bobtail cat that sits in an inviting posture. ‘Maneki-neko’ figurines have a special place in Japanese homes and shops as a presence bringing good luck. Gotokuji in Tokyo has a temple for Maneki-Neko and is a popular tourist place.

Japan's Supernatural Cats: The Bakeneko and Nekomata

Bakeneko is a supernatural cat popular in Japanese folklore, while Nekomata is another supernatural cat known for having two tails. Bakeneko is depicted as a cat dancing with a napkin on its head. Bakeneko is supposed to lick lamp oil, and when that occurs, it causes a strange event. The rational explanation is that the Japanese villagers used fish oil in their lamps, tempting the cats to lick the oil. Bakeneko are also believed to be shapeshifters.

One superstition is that Bakeneko are cats killed by humans and they set out to have revenge against the human who killed them. This belief could have worked as a great deterrent to keep people from harming cats.

Nyan Nyan Ji Cat Museum

Nyan Nyan Ji in Kyoto has a cat shrine and a cat monk. The word Nyan Nyan Ji can be translated as Meow Meow temple. Originally, this temple was a traditional Japanese house. It was converted into a cat-themed art museum where a beckoning cat welcomes visitors. The family who owned the house built this temple-like museum. It is cat artwork that is housed here including paintings, sculptures, and spiritual objects.

The main hall features a tall cat Buddha. The temple also has a Maneki-Neko, a lucky charm cat, which is rare to spot as it lives outside the temple. It is believed to bring good luck to those who spot it.

Nekogamijinja, The Cat’s God Shrine

In Kagoshima in Japan, inside the expanse of Sengan-en gardens, a 17th-century property belonging to the Shimadzu family, there is a Cat’s God Shrine named, Nekogamijinja. It is a Shinto shrine and in its sanctum santorum, a stone shrine, are the ceramic effigies of two cats.

The story behind this shrine is that the 17th family head, Lord Shimadzu, took seven cats with him to tell the time based on their pupil dilation when he sailed on a military mission. Only two cats survived the journey and he built a temple for them. The temple offers its visitors an opportunity to worship cats and time.

When a pet cat dies, the owner can go to this temple and write the cat’s name in the temple register. A Shinto priest would read aloud the name and perform a ritual for it. Another ritual is available to be performed for missing cats and also for the welfare of your living cat.

A few other cat shrines in Japan are Nekojinja, Nambujinja, Konoshimajinja, Nekonomiya, Omatsu Daigongen Shrine, and Gotokuji Temple.

Buddhist monasteries and temples have kept cats to protect food from rodents. The association with monasteries might have been crucial in cats winning a divine place in Japanese culture, along with the centuries-old and rich cat folklore. Japanese cat culture, which began centuries ago, still thrives in modern times.