Nekomata

animal_ally earth Japanese folklore single tradition · 3

Nekomata is a cat shapeshifter from Japanese folklore. It is related to the Bakeneko.

↻ synthesized from 3 sources

When

First attested
0 CE
Attested period
0 – 2020

Relationships

syncretized with
kasha
cognate of
Bakeneko

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“Bakeneko and Nekomata (cat)”

#5281 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“As with the nekomata, another cat-like yōkai which is said to evolve from a cat whose tail split into two when it grew old, there are folk beliefs across Japan about aged cats turning into bakeneko.”

#5813 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“In the Edo period many books illustrating and describing yōkai were published (yōkai emaki), with nekomata frequently depicted. The Hyakkai Zukan, published in 1737 (Genbun 2), includes an illustration of a nekomata assuming the appearance of a woman playing a shamisen”

#7891 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001