Hyakki Yagyō
Also shown at the right, the "Gazu Hyakki Yagyō" of 1776 (An'ei 5) depicts a cat with its head protruding from a shōji screen, a cat with a handkerchief on its head and its forepaw on the veranda, and a cat wearing a handkerchief and standing upright. The less experienced cat has difficulty standing on its hind legs while the older cat is able to do so: we are viewing the process by which a normal cat ages and transforms into a "nekomata". In the Bigelow ukiyo-e collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the "Hyakki Yagyō Emaki" includes a similar composition, leading some scholars to see a relationship between the books.