Bakeneko
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The bakeneko is a type of Japanese yōkai, or supernatural entity; more specifically, it is a kaibyō, or supernatural cat. It is often confused with the nekomata, another cat-like yōkai. The distinctio
The Bakeneko of the Sasakibara Family (猫) from the Buson Yōkai Emaki by Yosa Buson. It depicts a cat in Nagoya that would wear a napkin on its head and dance. Unlike nekomata which have two tails, the bakeneko has only one tail.
Ume no Haru Gojūsantsugi (駅) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. A kabuki play that was performed in 1835 (Tenpo 6) in Ichimura-za. It depicts a cat that has shapeshifted into an old woman, a cat wearing a napkin and dancing, and the shadow of a cat licking a lamp.
"Shōzan Chomon Kishū" by Miyoshi Shōzan. Here, a man who has become suspicious of a cat attempts to kill it because it speaks in human language.
A stone monument Odoriba Station, Yokohama Municipal Subway engraving the origin of the station's name
Kaibyō
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Kaibyō are supernatural cats in Japanese folklore. Examples include bakeneko, a yōkai commonly characterized as having the ability to shapeshift into human form; maneki-neko, usually depicted as a fig
Bakeneko
…The bakeneko (ばけ猫, "changed cat") is a type of Japanese yōkai, or supernatural entity; more specifically, it is a kaibyō, or supernatural cat. It is often confused with the nekomata, another cat-like yōkai. The distinction between them is often ambiguous, but the largest…
A maneki-neko figure
Amaterasu cave wide