Nekomata. (2020, September 9). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nekomata&oldid=977577652 A Bakeneko prostitute eating while the surprised client looks on. (1775) Torii Kiyonaga ( Public Domain )

International Research Center for Japanese Studies, “ 山猫”“ 山猫” Yokai Terminology: Kaibyo is Cat Yokai Bakeneko are cat yokai known for their shape changing abilities, being able to take the appearance of ordinary cats, and also humans. This makes sense because the term bake-neko actually means changed cat, with the character of bake from obake, meaning those yokai which can shapeshift or transform. Bakemono are created from a cat’s vengeance and hatred; Two Tailed Cats are from the wild or elderly cats transform into them. Nekomata, on the other hand, are evil, plain and simple. Nekomata is often translated as “forked cat,” but it may also mean “again cat,” have something to do with monkeys, or mean something entirely different that has been lost to time [4, 5, 10]. There are several different forms of the word, all sharing the same character for neko, “cat,” but with different characters after [4]. The first written mention of nekomata in Japan was in 1233 [10], so there has been a lot of time for the word to evolve. That first mention came when Fujiwara no Teika recorded in his journal that in August in Nanto, a nekomata killed and ate several people in one night [4, 5, 10]. He described the nekomata as having cat eyes but “a large body like a dog” [5, 10]. From then on, the image of Nekomatas being large cats with 2 tails was established. What is Bakeneko?

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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. Nekomata are essentially powered up Bakeneko. Legends of Nekomata begin in a similar way to the Bakeneko – with a domestic cat standing on its hind legs. However, Nekomata are the oldest and largest cats and have longer tails than Bakeneko. They are said to have two identical tails after their change, enabling them to create double the trouble. Sharp, Jasper (2011). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810857957.

Many other animals appear as yōkai in old tales and display similar attributes: the deep tenacity of snakes, the ability of foxes ( kitsune) to shapeshift into women, and the brutality of bake-danuki in eating humans depicted in the Kachi-kachi Yama folktale from the Edo period. However, cats figure in a great number of tales and superstitions because they live with humans yet retain their wild essence and air of mystery. [5] Bakeneko start off as normal cats, but later develop supernatural abilities. They can gain these abilities as a result of age, after living for around 12 or 13 years, from being unusually large, from eating too much lamp oil, or by having too long a tail. For this reason in ancient japan, cats’ tails were usually cut short, and it is theorized, that a preference for short-tailed cats led to an unintentional breeding, which resulted in many of japan’s cats now having naturally short tails. Once they have gained their supernatural powers, the bakenko grow in size, up to the size of a human adult, they begin to walk on their hind legs, they may learn human language, and they can summon fireballs. Fire also appears on the tips of their tails, which, as you can imagine, leads to them unintentionally lighting houses on fire. These are Scampuss. According to the in-game lore, a Scampuss is a type of Yokai. We won’t get into their bleak origins or the reason for their thousand-yard stare. If you want to read it, choose Starting Point from the world map, and navigate to Hut > View Illustrations > Yokai Illustrations and scroll through until you find Scampuss. It won’t be there at first, so you’ll have to encounter a few in the wild before the information gets filled in.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] During the Edo period (1603–1867), tales about bakeneko began to appear in essays and kaidan collections in various areas. Tales of cats transforming into humans and talking can be seen in publications like the Tōen Shosetsu ( 説), [19] the Mimibukuro ( 嚢), [26] [27] the Shin Chomonjū ( 集), [28] and the Seiban Kaidan Jikki ( 記). [29] Similarly, tales of dancing cats can be seen in the Kasshi Yawa ( 話), [30] and the Owari Ryōiki ( 記). [31] In the fourth volume of "Mimibukuro", it is stated that any cat anywhere that lives for ten years would begin to speak as a human, [32] and that cats born from the union of a fox and a cat would begin speaking even before ten years had passed. [33] According to tales of cats that transform, aged cats would very often shapeshift into old women. [4] The Edo period was the golden age for kaidan about bakeneko, and with shibai like the "Nabeshima Bakeneko Disturbance" being performed, these became even more famous. [25] 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.