What is the difference between a bakeneko and a nekomata

Friendly and evil, youkai come in many forms. In this article we will talk about the Bakeneko and its grown up and more powerful version, the Nekomata.

Cats have always walked the fine thread between good and evil all over the world. This might be because their glowing eyes, nocturnal lifestyle and attitude have a flair of the supernatural. The origin story of the Bakeneko is a sad one in this youkai manual entry. According to old beliefs in ancient Japan a cat older than seven years would attempt to kill its owner.

As cats became more and more domesticated the decision of how long a cat was allowed to live came along with the decision of a possible adoption. Our youkai manual says that bakeneko are vengeful cats that came back from the dead, cursing their owner.

Bakeneko looked like regular cats but had the ability to shapeshift into humans, dance and speak the common tongue. Their favorite food is poison and lamp oil. During the Edo period — people believed that cats with long tails could bewitch humans so they decided to crop them.

According to the youkai manual, age is also important for a Bakeneko, the older the cat the more powerful it is. In general, Bakeneko are always up to no good. However, there have been encounters of Bakeneko getting along with their human family if their transition to a Bakeneko was peaceful. To make sure you encounter a friendly one, you better treat cats nicely! Next in our youkai manual is the Nekomata.

However these critters far more powerful and evil. Once a Bakeneko gets an extremely long tail and reaches an old age the tail will split in two and a Nekomata is born. They start to walk on two legs and speak the human tongue. Even though they imitate humans, Nekomata feel superior in every way. In fact, they find great pleasure in tormenting humans and creating chaos wherever they go.

Bakeneko also have the ability to eat anything in their way, regardless of size or edibility. This includes humans. Their main food is poison, particularly a certain snake unknown to humankind.

Wikipedia - Bakeneko. Wikipedia - Nekomata. Hyakumonogatari - Bakeneko. Hyakumonogatari - Nekomata. Obakemono - Bakeneko. Nekomata are generally more hateful towards humans as a firm animosity. The difference between Bakeneko and Nekomata are quite simple however, but being able to differentiate between the two might save your life.

The Nekomata have two long, split tails and are believed to be more skilled in their spiritual powers while also better at speaking human languages. Bakeneko, however, have a short tail as common of most house cats. Because of the Nekomata, many people in Japan practised the painless removal of tails from kittens, to keep their powers from growing with their tails, as it was believed that the longer a tail is, the more power it contains.

It was generally believed that cats with long tails used them to bewitch and enslave humans in their living lives, and charged their spiritual powers by staring and gazing at the moon. Nekomata also have better control over their shapeshifting abilities. Anything Bakeneko can do, Nekomata can do better! It is said that between your own mother and a Nekomata, you would never know the difference unless you peeked under their clothing and saw the two hidden tails.

They are much harder to kill in any form compared to the Bakeneko, and they also kill indiscriminately. Stray animals, children, and humans are all at danger of being attacked and eaten by a savage Nekomata.