Neko

From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.

Many types of Neko

Neko (猫, ねこ) is the Japanese word for a domestic cat. In furry, it is often used to refer to nekomimi (猫耳), otherwise known as catgirls, found commonly in anime and manga either as a form of cosplay or actual body parts, as well as in a few video games.

[edit] Nekomata and Bakeneko

In Japanese mythology and folklore, Bakeneko (化け猫) are cats with supernatural abilities akin to those of the fox or raccoon dog. A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may reach a certain age, be kept for a certain number of years, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail. In the last case, the tail forks in two and the bakeneko is then called a Nekomata (猫又). Nekomata are popularly found in anime as well.

A bakeneko will haunt any household it is kept in, creating ghostly fireballs, menacing sleepers, walking on its hind legs, changing its shape into that of a human, and even devouring its own mistress in order to shapeshift and take her place. When it is finally killed, its body may be as much as five feet in length. It also poses a danger if allowed into a room with a fresh corpse; a cat is believed to be capable of reanimating a body by jumping over it.

Any cat that lives over thirteen years old, reaches one kan (eight pounds) in weight or is allowed to keep a long tail can become a bakeneko ( 化け猫 ) or Ghost Cat (Addis 2001). A bake-neko is a cat that gains paranormal powers after certain circumstances. The breeding of the Japanese Bobtail may have some connection with this superstition. After a bakeneko tail grows long enough it forks into two tails, then the bakeneko is no longer called a bakeneko, but a nekomata. Other forms of bakeneko are Maneki-neko (Addis 2001). Most of the stories about the bakeneko are told orally in Japan.

[edit] Legend

There are many legends about the bakeneko. One in particular may have given birth to the Japanese Bobtail. As the legend goes, a cat was warming itself near the fire and set its tail on fire. The long-tail cat then ran through the town burning many buildings to the ground. For retribution the Emperor decreed that all cats should have their tails cut off.

Another famous bakeneko story is about a man named Takasu Genbei, whose mother’s personality changed completely after his pet cat went missing for many years. His mother avoided the company of friends and family and would take her meals alone in her room. When the family peeked in on her they saw a cat like a monster in the mother's clothes, chewing on animal carcasses. Takasu, still skeptical, slew what looked like his mother and after one day his mother's body turned back into his pet cat that had been missing.

Not all bakeneko are bad; in some stories they are faithful and good-hearted to their owners; three stories in particular tie benevolent bakeneko to the legend of the maneki neko. One such story is about a bakeneko named Tama. Tama's owner was a very poor priest who lived in a rundown temple in Setagaya, west of Tokyo. The priest would tell Tama, “I’m keeping you in spite of my poverty, so couldn’t you do something for this temple?” One day the lord of the Hikone district, Naotaka, was standing under a big tree in front of the temple to avoid the rain. Naotaka become aware of a cat calling him to the temple gate. As he begins to walk to the temple gate the tree was struck by lighting. The cat who called out to Naotaka was Tama. After the incident, Naotaka became friends with the priest of the temple. Naotaka chose the temple to be the family temple and change its name to Goutokuji. Because of Tama's help the priest became prosperous.

Another good bake-neko story is about a cat whose owner was a high-ranking geisha. Every time she would try to go to the toilet, the cat would claw at her robes to keep her away from the toilet. Because of the cat’s strange behavior the geisha killed it. After that she proceeded to the toilet. As she begin to use the toilet, the ghost of the cat bit to death the snake that was lurking near the toilet, saving its owner from harm.

Sometimes the bakeneko had the power to enter someone’s dreams. There is a story about a bakeneko who entered her owner's dream to tell her to manufacture its image in clay in order to bring her wealth. Other stories tell about how a bakeneko may sometimes shape-shift into a beautiful girl, so that their owner would be able to marry them and have children.

[edit] Popular culture

Japanese popular culture contains a large number of two-tailed cat characters based on the Nekomata. Some of these include:

• Kirara, the pet of Sango in InuYasha.
• In the manga Shaman King, Hao Asakura's spirit ally from 1,000 years ago is a Nekomata named Matamune.
• A character named Yugito in Naruto contains a Two-Tailed Demon Cat.
• In the manga/anime series Hyper Police the character Natsuki Sasahara is half human and possibly half Nekomata, or possibly a mix of Nekomata with a third 'god' race which may account for her having some additional powers.
• In the anime Inukami!, the character Tomekichi is a benevolent Nekomata who honors an obligation to a deceased priest who once took care of him.
• In the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, the Skill Nekomata is an agile, human-like cat sporting a long tail.
• In the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Beast Nekomata appear as recruitable allies in Ginza and Ikebukuro.
• In the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Nekomata is one of the main Protagonist's summonable Personas.
• The Pokémon Espeon is a purple Nekomata which uses psychic attacks.
• The character Yurine in the animation Karas appears as both a human and a white cat with a forked-tail.
• In the series Claymore manga, Luciela, the abyssal one of the South, has an awakened form resembling a two-tailed cat demon.
• In the video game Battlefield 2142, the PAC (Pan Asian Coalition) has a futuristic hover tank named the Type 32 Nekomata.
• On Ninja Sentai Kakuranger there is a Yokai called Bakeneko.
• In the video games Disgaea: Hour of Darkness & Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, the player has the ability to create a Nekomata from the Dark Assembly.
• In the video game Persona 3, a Persona named Nekomata is obtainable. It takes the form of a humanlike cat.
• In the Anime Vampire Princess Miyu in the episode Your House she confronted Nan-ki a Nekomata Shinma.
• In the video games Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner & Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2 you can encounter a Nekomata in battle whom falls under the Beast race.
• In the video games Persona, Persona 2: Innocent sin, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment & Persona 3: Fes a nekomata is summonable Persona.
• In Studio Ghibli's film Pom Poko that focused about how the Tanuki's way of life was in danger, would they adapt or be killed off? During a scene which the elder was explaining transformation, he pointed out on a large tapestry about other Yokai whom had that ability other then them selfs, which included kitsunes and "Some cats" to refer to either bakenekos and or Nekomatas.
• In the Video game Touhou, there is a Nekomata named Chen, who, in addition to having a forked tail, has very long fingernails, possibly to imitate claws of a cat.