Have you ever been to a funeral wake and noticed the local cat slumbering nearby?And that same cat is seen near hospitals and cemeteries? You might have just met a supernatural kaibyo that loves the dying and the dead. Look carefully and you might just see that its two fiery tails.

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Nekomata belongs to a group of yokai known as the kaibyo (怪猫), literally meaning strange cats. They are cat-like creatures such as bakeneko and neko-musume. Although, the nekomata has been documented in Kamakura-period manuscripts, centuries before other kaibyo.

Appearance

Kamakura nekomata are described as ferocious cat-like creatures that lived in the mountainous forests.  Their size varies from a large dog to one big enough to carry a small child easily in its mouth. These nekomata have been known to attack and, even, hunt human.

There are many stories of feudal heroes saving villages who were under siege by laying these savage creatures. Some kaidan collections demonstrated the supernatural properties of the nekomata in its ability to shapeshift into human form and, even, fool the villagers.

Modern Ways

Unlike the aggressive nekomata of old, the contemporary version is more domesticated but not less magical. The “tame” nekomata is romanticized by Edo artists who drew them in flamboyant clothes and playing musical instruments such as the shamisen.

Such embellished portrayals have led many to mistake a bakeneko for a nekomata. Edo-period manuscripts described both to have evolved from an old and wizened cat . But, notably, one that evolved after it’s tail split into two is the nekomata. That is the chief distinction.

During the Edo period, the nekomata gains the power of necromancy, the ability to raise and control the dead. The same ability is described in another kaibyo called the kasha. Again, the one with two flaming tails is the nekomata. It is said to breathe the soul of the dying, or recently dead, as nourishment.

Conclusion

So next time you are in Japan and you see a cat by the road or on a wall. Before you go to pat the cat, please look around. Check if there is a cemetery behind the wall. See if it has two tails instead or one. Or just leave the cat be and you get live for another day.

Yokai Details

• name: nekomata (neh-koh-mah-tah)
• kanji: 猫又、 猫股 (ねこまた)
• meaning: cat again or forked cat
• abilities:
  1. metamorph — change into human form
  2. sickness — cause an individual to get nekomata disease
  3. super agility — able to effortlessly dodge any attacks
  4. hyper senses — possess acute sense of smell and hearing
  5. necromancy — able to raise the dead