page_title: Nekomata
section_title: Yōkai depictions
hierarchical_section_title: Nekomata / Yōkai depictions
caption_attribution_description: Català: Nekomata (猫股, Nekomata?) és un gat la cua de forca del qual és una pista de que s'ha convertit en una criatura supranatural perillosa. Deutsch: Nekomata, die auf ihren Hinterbeinen läuft. Zwei jüngere Katzen versuchen erfolglos, ebenfalls auf zwei Beinen zu gehen. Sie scheitern jedoch daran, dass sie zu jung sind und sich noch nicht in Nekomata verwandelt haben. Illustration aus dem Gazu Hyakkiyagyō (画図百鬼夜行 „Illustrierte nächtliche Prozession aller Dämonen“, 3 Bände, 1776) von Toriyama Sekien. English: Nekomata, as illustrated by Toriyama Sekien. Nekomata walking on its hind legs, illustrated by Toriyama Sekien. Nekomata (猫股?) is a cat whose forked tail is a clue that it has become a dangerous supernatural creature. Español: Representación de Nekomata. Nekomata es un gato al que le creció otra cola y se convirtió en una criatura peligrosa y supernatural. Nekomata ilustrado por Toriyama Sekien. Français&#160;: Nekomata de Toriyama Sekien. Nekomata (猫股, Nekomata?) est un chat dont la queue fourchue est un indice qu'il est devenu une dangereuse créature surnaturelle. Italiano: Un Nekomata in piedi sulle zampe posteriori in un'illustrazione di Toriyama Sekien. Nekomata. 日本語: 鳥山石燕『画図百鬼夜行』より「猫また」. 猫また（ねこまた）. Nederlands: Een Nekomata, getekend door Toriyama Sekien. Norsk (bokmål)‎: Nekomata som går på bakbeina, illustrert av Toriyama Sekien. Polski: Nekomata chodzący na tylnych łapach, ilustracja Sekien Toriyamy. Nekomata (jap. 猫股, Nekomata?). Nekomata (jap. 猫股, Nekomata?), ilustracja Sekien Toriyamy. Português: Nekomata andando sobre duas pernas, em uma ilustração de Toriyama Sekien. Русский: Нэкомата ходит на задних лапах (художник Торияма Сэкиэн). ไทย: เนะโกะมะตะ. Українська: Некомата ходить на задніх лапах (художник Торіяма Секіен). Tiếng Việt: Nekomata đi bằng hai chân, có hai đuôi trong tranh của Toriyama Sekien. 中文: 貓又正靠著牠的後腳行走。此圖由鳥山石燕所繪。. 猫又是一种猫形妖怪，具有分叉的尾巴是它的特征。.
context_page_description: Nekomata are a kind of cat yōkai described in Chinese and then Japanese folklore, classical kaidan, essays, etc. There are two very different types: those that live in the mountains and domestic cats that have grown old and transformed. Nekomata are often confused with Bakeneko.
context_section_description: In the Edo period many books illustrating and describing yōkai were published (yōkai emaki), with nekomata  frequently depicted. The Hyakkai Zukan published in 1737 (Gembun 2) includes an illustration of a nekomata assuming the appearance of a woman playing a shamisen. (See the first image on this page.) Since Edo-period shamisen frequently were made using cat skins, that particular nekomata sang a sad song about its species as it plucked the strings. Understandably, the image has been interpreted as ironic. As for the nekomata's wearing  geisha clothing, sometimes nekomata and geisha are considered related since geisha were once called "cats (neko)" 
  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.
caption: Nekomata (猫また) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama
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