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Japan Today
20 hours ago
- Japan Today
In Japan, bobtail cats are considered good luck and Nagasaki is filled with them
By MAYUKO ONO and MARI YAMAGUCHI In Japan, bobtail cats are considered good luck and Nagasaki is the place to find them. They are known as omagari neko (bent-tail cats) or kagi neko (hook cats) and have their own society of admirers and even a dedicated Shinto shrine. Their tails come in varieties including hook-shaped at the tip, curved or in a bun, explained Kazuya Hideshima, a worker at Omagari Neko Shrine and member of the Nagasaki Cat Society. Past findings have indicated bobtails accounted for nearly 80% of the cats in Nagasaki, twice the occurrence of anywhere else in Japan. Japanese cats are believed to have come from China in the 6th century with Buddhist monks, serving as rat hunters to protect religious scriptures on ships. Nagasaki bobtails have their roots in the Dutch East Indies when the city was the only foreign port during Japan's closed era in the 17th to 19th centuries. They hunted rats to protect shipments on their way from Southeast Asia to Japan, according to Nagasaki cultural officials. Soshin Yamamoto, a veterinarian and cat specialist, said the large population of bobtails in Nagasaki is likely the result of a genetic mutation that reproduced in a relatively isolated environment when the nation was shut up tight. 'Having bobtails is no problem for most cats living a normal life, as long as they live near humans and aren't jumping and running around like wild cats in a forest,' he said. Nagasaki residents hope the cats bring in tourists and help business. Natsuno Kani, a 50-year-old tourist from Tokyo who recently visited the bobtail shrine, said she knew Nagasaki was famous for bent-tail cats. But Abigail Tarraso, an artist from Spain based in Takeo City in neighboring Saga Prefecture, was unfamiliar with the species, which is not as popular in Spain. 'Today is the first time in Nagasaki that I have ever heard of this,' said Cindy Bi, an American who is also an artist. 'I am excited to look around for them. Maybe we will see a few." © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Swallowed by white, this is a different sort of hike
The '80s-brown digital alarm clock crows. The window glows a gradually whitening aurora. I gracelessly roll off my futon like an anaesthetised horse, shuffle down the corridor in ill-fitting slippers, swaddled in a yukata, thwacking my forehead on a hefty low beam that's been thwacked by generations of yawning pilgrims. Togakushi Pilgrims' Inn owner, Gokui-san, 78, is regaled in a black conical hat and powder-blue robe. The bespectacled, rally-driving Shinto priest thumps a taiko drum, chants metallically, executing the purification ceremony's esoteric formalities, by proxy launching my seven-day guided snowshoe tour of rural Nagano with Walk Japan. This week, three metres of powder snow will coat Japan's Central Alps, a region Nobel Laureate Yasunari Kawabata labelled 'Snow Country'. Sky and earth become one profoundly white realm. Cloistered senses sharpen. Time compresses into exhilarating snippets, like a real-time slide-night. Morning rituals develop. Devour teeny bowls of provincial scrumptiousness. Squeak into snug, snow-resistant synthetic layers. Tether snowshoes to hiking boots; affix gaiters. Follow Walk Japan's chirpy guides, Nick and Shiori, into the snowscape, shepherded by local enigmas like Hata-san. An Italian restaurateur-cum-ski-slopes-groomer, Hata-san knows the most intriguing forest paths between Togakushi's five shrines; centuries-old Buddhist/Shinto structures where divinity dances on weathered woodwork, where 'treasure meets light', and where water-breathing dragons safeguard trees. Hata-san's owl-strength eyes and wisdom breathe life into Nagano's backcountry. Simple scratches in mossy tree bark become claw-marks of now-hibernating Asian black bears. He occasionally hears them thud to the forest floor from their precarious tree-top perches in warmer months, fixated on nothing but scoffing acorns. Criss-crossing indents in the snow become a fox pursuing her bunny-rabbit feast. My own snowshoe-track trajectory reminds Hata-san of the common raccoon dog's. I cagily crunch across Lake Kagami-ike, trout swimming under 50 frozen centimetres. Sapphire sky perforates clouds briefly, uncloaking formidable Togakushi Range, home to cave-dwelling monks, life-extinguishing mountain-climbing routes and, reportedly, Momiji – a murderous female demon exiled from Kyoto. A stupendous avenue of 400-year-old, sky-tickling cedars preludes Togakushi's Okusha shrine. Instagramming day-trippers and pilgrims alike approach this 'power spot' reverently: toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice, pray, bow again.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Swallowed by white, this is a different sort of hike
The '80s-brown digital alarm clock crows. The window glows a gradually whitening aurora. I gracelessly roll off my futon like an anaesthetised horse, shuffle down the corridor in ill-fitting slippers, swaddled in a yukata, thwacking my forehead on a hefty low beam that's been thwacked by generations of yawning pilgrims. Togakushi Pilgrims' Inn owner, Gokui-san, 78, is regaled in a black conical hat and powder-blue robe. The bespectacled, rally-driving Shinto priest thumps a taiko drum, chants metallically, executing the purification ceremony's esoteric formalities, by proxy launching my seven-day guided snowshoe tour of rural Nagano with Walk Japan. This week, three metres of powder snow will coat Japan's Central Alps, a region Nobel Laureate Yasunari Kawabata labelled 'Snow Country'. Sky and earth become one profoundly white realm. Cloistered senses sharpen. Time compresses into exhilarating snippets, like a real-time slide-night. Morning rituals develop. Devour teeny bowls of provincial scrumptiousness. Squeak into snug, snow-resistant synthetic layers. Tether snowshoes to hiking boots; affix gaiters. Follow Walk Japan's chirpy guides, Nick and Shiori, into the snowscape, shepherded by local enigmas like Hata-san. An Italian restaurateur-cum-ski-slopes-groomer, Hata-san knows the most intriguing forest paths between Togakushi's five shrines; centuries-old Buddhist/Shinto structures where divinity dances on weathered woodwork, where 'treasure meets light', and where water-breathing dragons safeguard trees. Hata-san's owl-strength eyes and wisdom breathe life into Nagano's backcountry. Simple scratches in mossy tree bark become claw-marks of now-hibernating Asian black bears. He occasionally hears them thud to the forest floor from their precarious tree-top perches in warmer months, fixated on nothing but scoffing acorns. Criss-crossing indents in the snow become a fox pursuing her bunny-rabbit feast. My own snowshoe-track trajectory reminds Hata-san of the common raccoon dog's. I cagily crunch across Lake Kagami-ike, trout swimming under 50 frozen centimetres. Sapphire sky perforates clouds briefly, uncloaking formidable Togakushi Range, home to cave-dwelling monks, life-extinguishing mountain-climbing routes and, reportedly, Momiji – a murderous female demon exiled from Kyoto. A stupendous avenue of 400-year-old, sky-tickling cedars preludes Togakushi's Okusha shrine. Instagramming day-trippers and pilgrims alike approach this 'power spot' reverently: toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice, pray, bow again.
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- The Mainichi
In Japan, rare bobtail cats are considered good luck. Nagasaki is filled with them
NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) -- In Japan, bobtail cats are considered good luck and Nagasaki is the place to find them. They are known as "omagari neko (bent-tail cats)" or "kagi neko (hook cats)" and have their own society of admirers and even a dedicated Shinto shrine. Their tails come in varieties including hook-shaped at the tip, curved or in a bun, explained Kazuya Hideshima, a worker at Omagari Neko Shrine and member of the Nagasaki Cat Society. Past findings have indicated bobtails accounted for nearly 80% of the cats in Nagasaki, twice the occurrence of anywhere else in Japan. Japanese cats are believed to have come from China in the 6th century with Buddhist monks, serving as rat hunters to protect religious scriptures on ships. Nagasaki bobtails have their roots in the Dutch East Indies when the city was the only foreign port during Japan's closed era in the 17th to 19th centuries. They hunted rats to protect shipments on their way from Southeast Asia to Japan, according to Nagasaki cultural officials. Soshin Yamamoto, a veterinarian and cat specialist, said the large population of bobtails in Nagasaki is likely the result of a genetic mutation that reproduced in a relatively isolated environment when the nation was shut up tight. "Having bobtails is no problem for most cats living a normal life, as long as they live near humans and aren't jumping and running around like wild cats in a forest," he said. Nagasaki residents hope the cats bring in tourists and help business. Natsuno Kani, a 50-year-old tourist from Tokyo who recently visited the bobtail shrine, said she knew Nagasaki was famous for bent-tail cats. But Abigail Tarraso, an artist from Spain based in Takeo City in neighboring Saga prefecture, was unfamiliar with the species, which is not as popular in Spain. "Today is the first time in Nagasaki that I have ever heard of this," said Cindy Bi, an American who is also an artist. "I am excited to look around for them. Maybe we will see a few."
Nahar Net
2 days ago
- General
- Nahar Net
Cats with hooked and bent tails fill Nagasaki where they are thought to bring good luck
by Naharnet Newsdesk 29 May 2025, 15:44 In Japan, bobtail cats are considered good luck and Nagasaki is the place to find them. They are known as "omagari neko (bent-tail cats)" or "kagi neko (hook cats)" and have their own society of admirers and even a dedicated Shinto shrine. Their tails come in varieties including hook-shaped at the tip, curved or in a bun, explained Kazuya Hideshima, a worker at Omagari Neko Shrine and member of the Nagasaki Cat Society. Past findings have indicated bobtails accounted for nearly 80% of the cats in Nagasaki, twice the occurrence of anywhere else in Japan. Japanese cats are believed to have come from China in the 6th century with Buddhist monks, serving as rat hunters to protect religious scriptures on ships. Nagasaki bobtails have their roots in the Dutch East Indies when the city was the only foreign port during Japan's closed era in the 17th to 19th centuries. They hunted rats to protect shipments on their way from Southeast Asia to Japan, according to Nagasaki cultural officials. Soshin Yamamoto, a veterinarian and cat specialist, said the large population of bobtails in Nagasaki is likely the result of a genetic mutation that reproduced in a relatively isolated environment when the nation was shut up tight. "Having bobtails is no problem for most cats living a normal life, as long as they live near humans and aren't jumping and running around like wild cats in a forest," he said. Nagasaki residents hope the cats bring in tourists and help business. Natsuno Kani, a 50-year-old tourist from Tokyo who recently visited the bobtail shrine, said she knew Nagasaki was famous for bent-tail cats. But Abigail Tarraso, an artist from Spain based in Takeo City in neighboring Saga prefecture, was unfamiliar with the species, which is not as popular in Spain. "Today is the first time in Nagasaki that I have ever heard of this," said Cindy Bi, an American who is also an artist. "I am excited to look around for them. Maybe we will see a few."
