Scores of cat enthusiasts painted their faces and dressed up in elaborate and colorful feline costumes to celebrate Japan’s annual ghost cat festival, “Bakeneko”.
Cat lovers danced and played music as they paraded through the Tokyo neighborhood, Kagurazaka, on Sunday for the festival that traditionally precedes Halloween on Oct 31.
The neighborhood is the main location in the satirical novel, “I Am A Cat”, by popular author Natsume Soseki.
“Kagurazaka is a town known for cats and because Halloween is getting close, we decided to celebrate Halloween, autumn and cats town all together in one parade,” said designer, Okameya Yuko, who organized the festival. (Reuters)
The Mythical Bakeneko (From Ancient Orgins)
Bakeneko has sometimes been translated as ‘Monster Cat’ or ‘Ghost Cat’, but the best definition in English may simply be ‘Changing Cat.’ The mythological Bakeneko are yōkai (supernatural creatures) that allegedly begin as regular domestic cats. Legends say that as cats get older they change. The process starts with them walking on their hind legs, although with time the cats gain more powers and grow larger (even to the size of a human), they then have the ability to change their forms and sometimes peak human languages.
Stories about Bakeneko suggest that the favorite form to shift into for these devious cats is their owners or other humans. This change reportedly makes the cats so happy that they put napkins on their heads and dance. (Read more at Ancient Origins)
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