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
"The Bakeneko of the Sasakibara Family" (榊原家の化け猫), from the Buson yōkai emaki by Yosa Buson (18th century).
A maneki-neko figure
Amaterasu cave wide
Nekomata
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Nekomata are a kind of cat yōkai described in Japanese folklore, classical kaidan, essays, etc. There are two very different types: those that live in the mountains and domestic cats that have grown o
Kaibyō
…as having the ability to shapeshift into human form; maneki-neko, usually depicted as a figurine often believed to bring good luck to the owner; and nekomata, referring either to a type of yōkai that lives in mountain areas or domestic cats that have grown old and transformed into yōkai. The reason that cats…
"Nekomata (猫また)" from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi
"Nekomata to Ifu Koto (ねこまたといふ事)" from the "Tonoigusa" by Ogita Ansei (1660). A scene of a hunter shooting a nekomata that has shapeshifted into the hunter's mother.
Nekomata (猫また) from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
Nekomata (猫また) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama