#horitomo

Cats were brought to Japan from China, and were originally a luxury only affordable to the court. In 1602, the law declared that all domestic cats must be released in an attempt to control the rat problem that threatened the silk industry. 

Like many animals in Japanese mythology, cats are said to gain magical abilities when they reach a certain age, becoming bakeneko (“monster/ghost cat). Their power is linked to age and the length of their tail. They gain the ability to speak, walk on their hind legs, shapeshift into a human, and change size. They are not all malevolent, but almost always mischievous. The most powerful form of the bakeneko is the nekomata (“forked cat”) who grows to such a size and level of intelligence that its tail splits in two, and it gains a fearful level of power. Nekomata are hostile to humans, can summon fireballs, control corpses, and prey on animals much larger than them such as boars, dogs, bears and humans. In order to prevent a cat from becoming a nekomata or bakeneko, superstition held that the owner should either cut off the cat’s tail, or kill it before the age of 13. This superstition is also said to have given rise to the popularity of the bobtail cat breed.

The Maneki Neko (“Beckoning Cat” aka Lucky Cat) is a statue often placed in front of places of business. It depicts a cat waving the viewer over to approach it, welcoming customers. The depiction is supposedly from the belief that if a cat washes its face, a visitor will arrive. One folk tale regarding the beckoning cat tells of a man who was resting under a tree during a rainstorm. He sees his cat waving to him, and when he approaches, the tree behind him is struck by lightning, and he is saved. Another story tells of a woman whose cat started violently tugging at her clothes, and could not be removed. An attendant cut off the cat’s head, which flew into the rafters of the house and killed a snake that had been poised to bite the lady. Remorseful for the unjust death of her cat, the lady had a wooden statue of the cat made.

Meneki Neko were originally white, but now come in a variety of colors to invite different types of luck: white for general luck, gold for money, pink for love, red to ward off illness, and black to ward off evil. In modern day, black maneki neko are sometimes used as a charm to ward off stalkers. (sources 1, 2, 3)