page_title: Bakeneko
section_title: Landmarks
hierarchical_section_title: Bakeneko / Landmarks
caption_attribution_description: Exit of Odoriba Station, Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line, Izumi-ku, Yokohama, Japan
context_page_description: The bakeneko is a type of Japanese yōkai, or supernatural creature. It is often confused with the nekomata, another cat-like yōkai. The distinction between them is often ambiguous, but the largest difference is that the Nekomata has two tails, while the Bakeneko has only one.
  There are legends of bakeneko in various parts of Japan, but the tale of the Nabeshima Bakeneko Disturbance in Saga Prefecture is especially famous.
context_section_description: Myōtaratennyo – Yahiko-jinja, Niigata Prefecture
  The origin of this landmark is in the Bunka period (1804–1818) essay "Kidan Hokkoku Junjōki" (北国奇談巡杖記), which contains passages about strange events concerning cats. In this book, giving the character "猫" the reading "myō", it was written as "猫多羅天女". According to another tale in the setsuwa of the Hokuriku region, the tale of the yasaburo-baba or mountain witch, a cat killed and ate an old woman and then became that old woman in her place, but later had a change of heart and became worshipped as a deity, the Myōtaraten. In Hokkaido and the northern Ōu region among other places, similar tales are passed down throughout the country.
  Neko no Odoriba – Izumi-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture
  It is said that in a soy sauce shop long ago, in Totsuka-juku of the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō (now Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture), it sometimes happened that napkins would disappear in the night one by one. One night, when the proprietor of the soy sauce shop went out on a job, he heard some bustling music from a place where there should have been no people around. When he looked, there were several cats gathered, and there in the center was a strange sight: the shopkeeper's pet cat, wearing a napkin on its head and dancing. That explained why his napkins had been going missing.
  The place where this cat is said to have danced is called Odoriba (踊場, meaning "dancing place"), and it left behind its name afterwards in places like the Odoriba intersection, as well as the Odoriba Station in the Yokohama Municipal Subway. In 1737 (Genbun 2), at the Odoriba intersection, a memorial tower was built in order to pacify the spirit of the cat, and the Odoriba station was decorated all over with the motif of a cat.
  Omatsu Daigongen – Kamo Town, Anan, Tokushima Prefecture
  This landmark derives from the following legend: In the early part of the Edo period, the village headman of Kamo Village (now Kamo Town) borrowed money from a wealthy man in order to save the village when their crops failed. Although he repaid the debt, the wealthy man plotted against him and falsely accused him of not paying. In despair, the village headman died of an illness. The land which had been collateral for the debt was then confiscated by the wealthy man. When the village headman's wife, Omatsu, attempted to complain to the bugyō (magistrate)'s office, the bugyō gave an unfair judgement because the wealthy person bribed him. Then, when Omatsu tried to complain directly to the daimyō, she failed again and was executed. The calico cat that Omatsu had raised became a bakeneko, and caused the wealthy person and the bugyō's families to come to ruin.
  At Omatsu Daigongen lies the grave of Omatsu, where the loyal wife who put her life on the line for justice is deified. The calico cat that destroyed Omatsu's foes is also deified, as the "Neko-tsuka" ("cat mound"), and on the grounds there is a komainu  (guardian statue) of a cat which is very unusual. Because the legend says that the cat sought revenge for an unfair judgement, it is supposed to grant favors in matters of competition or chance, and in testing season, many test-takers would pray for success in school here.
  Neko Daimyōjin Shi – Shiroishi, Kishima District, Saga Prefecture
  This is a landmark that comes from a tale concerning the Nabeshima clan, similar to the "Nabeshima Bakeneko Disturbance." In this story, the bakeneko took the shape of Nabeshima Katsushige's wife and sought Katsushige's life, but his retainer, Chibu Honuemon, slew it. However, after that the Chibu family was unable to produce a male heir because of the cat's curse. It is said that the bakeneko was deified at the shrine of Shūrinji (now Shiroishi Town) as a daimyōjin. At this shrine, a seven-tailed cat with its fangs bared has been engraved.
  Historically, Hide Isemori of the Hide clan who once ruled Shiroishi, despite having befriended the Nabeshima clan, was suspected of being Christian, and was brought to ruin. Since the remnants of the Hide clan resented and fought against the Nab
caption: A stone monument Odoriba Station, Yokohama Municipal Subway engraving the origin of the station's name
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