Nekomata (Wakayama)

Nekomata is the entity of an aged cat whose tail has split into two, who walks on two feet, speaks human language, and dances. Two lineages are distinguished: the "mountain nekomata" hidden in deep ranges and the "household nekomata" born of a long-kept domestic cat. Tsurezuregusa, chapter 89 (Yoshida Kenko, early 14th century), records "in the deep mountains there is a thing called nekomata that devours people" as the old textual layer. Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, yo no maki (1776) shows the picture under "Nekomata." Fujiwara no Teika's Meigetsuki, Tenpuku 1 (1233), 8th month 2nd day, records a "nekomata" devouring people in Nara, giving an early medieval citation. Murakami Kenji's Nihon Yokai Daijiten (Kadokawa, 2005) and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies Yokai Folklore Database systematize the tradition. In Wakayama and the Kii Peninsula, the figure merges with wildcat belief on the Kumano ranges.