A popular 3-D cat image in Shinjuku. (©Stephen Mansfield)
Known for short-lived fads and fashions, Japan's current infatuation with cats shows signs of having real staying power. What appears to be a recent trend is based, in fact, on a long history of interaction with felines, one inspiring respect and affection. The so-called "Tang Cat," also known as karaneko, is thought to have arrived in Japan, via Egypt, and then China and Korea, during the Nara (710-794) period.
Tasked with preventing damage to silk moth cocoons in China, they were also employed by temples in Japan to protect valuable Buddhist manuscripts from rodents, before being adopted by the aristocracy as domestic pets.
Entries in diaries kept by Japanese court ladies a thousand years ago suggest an abiding fondness for cats, one independent of their function as mousers. Even emperors had time to reflect on the beauty and mystic power. The young Emperor Uda (867-931), wrote admiringly of his cat: "When she walks, she moves silently, like a black dragon above the clouds."
Supernatural Cats
Affection and reverence, though, could turn to fear. The convergence of population growth in cities and a boom in the publishing industry during the Edo period (1603-1868) took place when homes were typically lit with oil lamps that attracted stray cats. The large, eerie shadows the lamps produced inspired spine-chilling tales of the supernatural, with a cast of suitably terrifying characters. Bakeneko were a type of bakemono, which included goblins, demons and ghosts. Nekomata were understood to be more diabolical versions of the bakeneko, a preternatural cat believed to have the power to summon fireballs and reanimate the dead.
Often depicted as yokai (supernatural entities) in Japanese folklore, they can still inspire fear. Some Japanese I have spoken to find cats downright spooky. This is based on a number of cat characteristics, including their nocturnal habits, and static-prone fur that can emit sparks when stroked, an eerie effect at night. Even the steps of an over-weight cat are stealthy, inaudible. Depending on the time of day, their irises change shape, an effect that can be either intriguing or unsettling.
The Perfect Fit
It is not difficult to see why cats are so popular in Japan. Aside from their beauty, the obsessive cleanliness of felines no doubt appeals to the Japanese, with their own high standards of hygiene. Adroit and nimble, cats are like ballet dancers. They are non-intrusive presences — half the time you hardly notice they are there. Cats mostly take care of themselves, another plus for busy owners.
Considering the space-pinched living conditions in Japanese cities, and the costs involved in bringing up children, it's hardly surprising. The average monthly expenses in keeping a cat are said to be around half that for a dog.
A critical point in cat ownership occurred in October 2015, when the number of felines in Japan, a cool nine million, surpassed dogs. Cats and dogs combined now outnumber children under 15 years old, a source of delight to pet owners, a nightmare to demographers and economic planners.
Cats Everywhere
Take a moment to look around, and you'll see that cats, real and representative, are everywhere — whether it's the cute, massively profitable Hello Kitty franchise, with its ubiquitous merchandize outlets, the recent NHK rerun of the popular 'World Cats Travelogue,' or the maneki-neko (beckoning cat), a popular figurine sitting outside restaurants with one paw raised in greeting. You'll also find a lot of cat photos and videos covering sites like cat cafes and islands on your social media feeds.
Cats have kept their owners good company over the centuries, coexisting with Buddhist monks, artists, courtesans and writers. When a stray cat took up residence with Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), regarded by many as Japan's foremost novelist, he was soon adopted as his muse. The inspiration for his debut work, Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (I Am a Cat), published in 1905, put Natsume on Japan's literary map.
Books in Japan with the word cat have continued their rise, creating a mini publishing boom. Works like Takashi Hiraide's The Guest Cat, Genki Kawamura's If Cats Disappeared from the World, Mornings With My Cat Mii, a memoir by the late Mayumi Inabi, and the slightly fabulist, We'll Prescribe You a Cat, by Syou Ishida, have become bestsellers translated into many languages. In Haruki Murakami's novels, cats are a recurring motif. Representative of loss, comfort and memory, they effortlessly bond with the loner figures that people his stories.
Cute Predators
Those who decide to have a cat mostly want a sweet, passive feline — a paragon of lovable docility. A cuddly adjunct to their quest for wellbeing. There are plenty of stories of cats, even strays, that have been inducted into people's homes, transforming into biddable lap cats within one week.
But it's worth remembering, as James Bowen wrote in his bestseller, A Street Cat Named Bob, they are "lethal predators by nature. A lot of people don't like to think of their cute little kitty as a mass murderer, but that's what cats are, given half a chance."
Our cat, adopted from a Tokyo shelter, though adorable in many ways, has been a handful. I know from experience and all my reading on the subject that physical punishment is not only useless when a cat is aggressive towards its owners, but detrimental to owner-cat relations. That also applies to actions like raising your voice in anger or making threats. All of these are well proven dead ends. Practicing forbearance, though, can be challenging when a cat is sinking its teeth into your arm, or using your leg as a scratching post.
Cat Temple
In trying to gauge the interest in cats, a visit to NyanNyan-Ji Temple was instructive. It might be a touch kitsch, but the temple-style art museum is much beloved of many Japanese and foreign visitors. Located along a river valley just outside of Kyoto, the site was created by temple painter Toru Kaya in 2016.
We failed to meet the presiding head cat monk this time, but there was plenty to see. Most impressive of all were a human-sized stuffed cat monk and a striking painting of a kittenish Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion, a bodhisattva with multiple arms and paws.
Pets, unfortunately, don't have nine lives. We live, as the Buddhists say, in a world of impermanence, where the only certainty is change. One of the biggest disincentives to having a pet is the prospect of losing it. The pet funeral business in Japan has boomed, with Buddhist temples welcoming the demand for memorial rites for pets. It's not uncommon for cats, increasingly regarded as family members, to be memorialized in the household Buddhist altar, thus becoming part of a family's ancestry.
Even Beyond Death
Known for syncretic practices, elements of Christianity and Western spiritualism are braided with burial practices for pets in Japan. One example is the so-called "Rainbow Bridge," a staging post for the afterlife. Here, the thinking goes, a deceased pet's spirit will wait until its owner dies. Reuniting, they journey into paradise.
A cynic might dismiss this as a comforting, grief-assuaging fantasy, but it's a touching reminder of the growing bond between owners and pets in contemporary Japan. And there are plenty of good reasons to give a cat a home. Scientifically based evidence even supports the idea that living with a pet can improve your health and outlook on life, provide a sense of purpose, even inspire a feeling of optimism.
Will the interest in the domestic cat continue, or is it already reaching a saturation point? With ever increasing pet ownership in Japan, and an enduring affection for cats, the trend seems unlikely to decline in the foreseeable future. Asian art curator Rhiannon Paget, author of Divine Felines: The Cat in Japanese Art, has no hesitation in asserting that, "Japan is the undisputed epicenter of global cat culture."
The subsequent innovations in cat-related trends and marketing can be staggering. All things considered, I think I've been doing well keeping up with all the developments in Japan's multi-dimensional, ever-expanding cat world. Boastful though it might sound, in owning a cat, researching their history and behavioral traits, I like to think I've become something of an authority on felines.
Just don't ask me what cat yoga is.
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Author: Stephen Mansfield
