First Advisor

Sean Schumacher

Date of Award

2-25-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Graphic Design and University Honors

Department

Art + Design

Language

English

Subjects

Cats -- Japan -- Folklore, Cats in art, Folklore -- Japan, Graphic arts

DOI

10.15760/honors.989

Abstract

Cats are strange and mysterious creatures. Cultures all around the world have created myths and legends surrounding house cats, stories laden with superstition and usually a touch of fear. In most of the West we have black cats and their association with witches and black magic. In Ancient Egypt, as most of us know, cats were worshipped as sacred animals. And in Japan there are bakeneko.

I use bakeneko as a general term, but what I am really referring to is kaibyo, which is a Japanese word used to describe supernatural or "strange" cats. And Japan has a lot of them. Almost since cats were first introduced to the archipelago in the mid-800s, stories have come about of their strange powers, their propensities toward shape-shifting, and all other sorts of strange myths.

But if you're like me, you may be wondering: why? What about cats and culture in general has led to this inevitable fascination, and sometimes demonization, of our domestic feline friends? The more I read about these legends, the more I wondered on these questions, and the deeper I had to go to find the answers. So join me in looking at the origins of these strange cats, and the underlying factors that have helped form Japan's complicated relationship with these mysterious and wonderful creatures.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35120

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