Yokai Cats Vol. 1

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This book was a gift from a friend who knows me oh-so-well, and knows my adoration for all things supernatural and all things cat-related. I've also been a long-time fan of Japanese folklore, particularly the weird and wonderful yokai; so much fodder for future book inspiration!

Although many Yokai cats are evil, there are also good ones. Nekogami (Cat Gods) are cats that have been enshrined and worshipped by people. There are a number of cat shrines and temples in Japan like Imado Shrine, Gotokuji Temple, Kokage Shrine, and more. The Yama Uba yokai is depicted as being a hideous old looking witch. She’s often described as having long shaggy hair, withered skin, and a huge gaping mouth. The most distinct feature of the Yama Uba would be her tattered kimono. One heads up for the iron beads is that you should never forget that taking them off is an option. By the time you have them, you should be leveled and experienced enough to know how to hold your own if you do need to take them off. I usually took them off in floors I wasn't too confident in my ability to clear without getting hit. Those floors were the shooting gallery floors and the parkour floors, mostly. Once they gain their powers, some Nekomata run away from their towns to hide deep in the mountains. They become large, human eating monsters (although the origins of these particular legends may actually be animals infected with rabies). There are also tales of these two tailed creatures learning necromancy. They then haunt their once owners with visitations from dead relatives. They can summon fireballs, just like the bakeneko. However, unlike the bakeneko, the nekomata use this ability to intentionally start large fires, killing many people.

Tengu is a legendary yokai that you’d likely have come across whilst exploring Japan. This popular folklore creature is often printed on arts and crafts and is featured in many cultural performances. Then there are the cat demons, witches, and other monsters (including a nice piece depicting a female cat playing an instrument). The author tries to provide as much context as relevant along with brief summaries of notable fairy tales relevant to each chapter. Bakemono are created from a cat’s vengeance and hatred; Two Tailed Cats are from the wild or elderly cats transform into them.

Davisson mixes each chapter with the origins of the kanji used to describe each kaibyo, a history of their emergence (mainly in the Edo period) and their respective powers, some fantastic artwork of the cats themselves to help you visualize how their creators saw them, and a short story or two featuring that particular type of kaibyo, often with a moral message for the audience. With the strange or exceptional characteristic cats tend to have, it is not surprising that the stories of Bakeneko and Nekomata also took hold and the mythical world was enhanced with their legendary stories. Cat Prostitutes Strike Fear The floors all follow a simple pattern, as far as I've noticed. Cat's Paw floor, 2 normal floors, and one boss floor. The two normal floors of each "set" seem to pull from the same pool. Because of that, if you're cat or yokai hunting, it's more time-efficient to do your reroll the second you get into the first normal floor, instead of thinking your second normal floor will have a different pool. In the book Yamato Kaiiki ( 大和怪異記, engl. "Mysterious stories from Japan"), written by an unknown author in 1708, one story speaks of a rich samurai's haunted house where the inhabitants witnessed several poltergeist activities. Attempting to end those events, the samurai called upon countless shamans, priests and evokers; but none of them could locate the source of the terror. One day, one of the most loyal servants saw his master's aged cat carrying in its mouth a shikigami with the samurai's name imprinted on it. Immediately shooting a sacred arrow, the servant hit the cat in its head; and as it lay dead on the floor, everyone could see that the cat had two tails and therefore had become a nekomata. With its death, the poltergeist activities ended. Similar eerie stories about encounters with nekomata appear in books such as Taihei Hyakumonogatari ( 太平百物語, engl. Collection of 100 fairy tales), written by Yusuke ( 祐佐, or Yūsa) in 1723 and in Rōō Chabanashi ( 老媼茶話, Tea-time gossip of old ladies), by Misaka Daiyata ( 三坂大彌), 1742.

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This hybrid yokai monster is a mixture between a monkey, a tiger, a dog, and a snake. Imagine the body of a dog, the legs of a tiger, the tail that is a snake, and the head of a monkey. That’s exactly what a Nue is! Have you ever wondered where "the inviting cat" derived from? Those cat statues found in pan-Asian shops all over, even in the homes and offices? This book has it, as well as a full description and history of every "sub-Neko" that is still celebrated today both in literature and pop-culture.