Introduction
Cats have been an integral part of Japanese culture for centuries. They are everywhere in Japan’s rich body of folklore: venerated as deities, decried as pests, feared as vengeful spirits, kept as mice catchers, and adored as pets. What better way to celebrate these wonderful felines than by worshipping them at a shrine or temple?
Prior to researching the subject, my initial impressions were that there wouldn’t be many shrines and temples dedicated to these felines. While there are relatively few in the final accounting — compared to thousands of existing Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples — I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were in fact a few dozen such institutions scattered throughout Japan, particularly in areas that practiced sericulture.
This six-part series introduces all the cat shrines and temples across Japan, excluding those already covered in the Tokyo list. From sleeping cats to stationmaster cats, these places celebrate kitties in all their forms. Here is Part 5.
Part 1 A–F: Akita to Fukushima
Part 2 G–K: Gunma to Kagoshima
Part 3 K: Kanagawa to Kyoto
Part 4 M–O: Miyagi to Okayama
Part 5 O–T: Osaka to Tochigi
Part 6 T–Y: Tokushima to Yamaguchi
Osaka
Nankunsha Shrine
While a number of shrines claim (or insinuate) that they’re the oldest in Japan, Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka has good odds on this assertion being true in their case. It was established in the year 211 — 500 years earlier than Izumo Taisha in Shimane, which is already considered one of the earliest Shinto shrines in Japan. It is also the head shrine for over 2,000 Sumiyoshi shrines across the country.
As expected of a significant Shinto shrine, Sumiyoshi Taisha draws the highest number of visitors for hatsumode (New Year’s visits) in Osaka. During the rest of the year, some devotees visit the shrine every month for the Hattatsu Mairi, which involves visiting four of its sub-shrines — Tanekashi-sha, Nankun-sha, Asazawa-sha, and Ōtoshi-sha — in the prescribed order, on the first ‘dragon day’ of the month as outlined in the 12-day week of the sexagenary cycle. ‘Hattatsu’ stems from 初辰, meaning the ‘first dragon day,’ but is also a homophone for 発達, meaning ‘growth’ or ‘development.’ It is always about wordplay.
There’s no such thing as instantaneous growth and development, so it stands to reason that one cannot simply visit the four shrines once and have done with it — properly performing the Hattatsu Mairi means visiting every month for 4 years, or 48 consecutive months. This is based on yet another pun: ‘48 dragons’ (四十八龍 shijūhachi tatsu) sounds like ‘development from start to finish’ (始終発達 shijū hattatsu.)
Naturally, part of performing the Hattatsu Mairi involves purchasing items for luck — specifically, little porcelain cat figurines called shōfuku neko (written with two of the same characters for maneki-neko) sold at Nankun-sha. Cats with their left paw raised are said to attract customers; the right paw raised brings financial wealth. The two types are available during alternating months of the year. Purchase left-pawed cats in odd-numbered months, and right-pawed cats in even-numbered months. More kitties equals more luck.
Devotees who collect 48 small shōfuku neko can swap them for one medium-sized cat. If they then go on to collect 48 more small cat figurines, as well as a pair of medium-sized left- and right-pawed cat figurines (which will take 96 months, or 8 years), they can trade these for the large cat. The ultimate prize is collecting a pair of these cats in the largest size, which involves performing the Hattatsu Mairi every month for 24 years. If you don’t have a dozen years to spare, the shrine is willing to sell you a single large porcelain cat for ¥10,000. But where’s the fun in that?
Jōgū Tenmangū Shrine
Jōgū Tenmangū Shrine in Takatsuki City is one of over 12,000 dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of scholars and learning. It’s a large, quiet shrine dotted with plum blossom trees, which bloom in February.
Tucked away at the back of the shrine grounds near the forest is a small sub-shrine, simply called Shūgo Tenjin. This is Jōgū Tenmangū’s animal shrine where they hold memorial services for small animals and pets — cats, of course, but also dogs, birds, hamsters, and the like. There are no signs in English (so far) but one can hardly miss the charming bronze statues of a cat family on top of the offertory box.
Like some of the other shrines we’ve covered so far, they’ve apparently kept ‘shrine cats’ for three generations now. Visitors can also purchase a little terracotta figure modelled after Momo, the present shrine kitty, as well as Momo-themed fortune slips.
Saitama
Baba Hikawa Shrine
On the surface, Baba Hikawa Shrine in Niiza City seems like a fairly ordinary Shinto shrine, and one that’s a little tricky to get to without a car. But there are two reasons to recommend going out of your way. For one, there are always gorgeous seasonal flowers, whether floating on the surface of the chōzuya (purification fountain), flanking the offertory box, or blooming throughout the shrine grounds. The second reason concerns their goshuin, especially the cat-themed ones distributed on Cat Day (22 February.)
While the shrine’s history has nothing to do with cats, there is at least one cat living on the premises, and a large ema featuring a beckoning cat. More importantly, Baba Hikawa has made a bit of a name for itself for its vibrant, multi-coloured goshūin (calligraphed shrine stamps) designed by the head priest. Think slightly deranged-looking kitties, intricate paper cut-out cats, a cat couple for Girls’ Day, and a pair of Hallmark-esque cats that for some reason brought t.A.T.u. to mind. There have also been goshūin featuring nine-tailed foxes, cow demons (ushi-oni), amabie, dragons (for 2024), and the star-crossed lovers of the Tanabata legend.
Whatever their reasons — perhaps it’s a creative outlet for the priest? — we love that they go to such lengths in producing these eclectic goshūin and generally making the shrine grounds such a joyful riot of colour. This is one for the stamp collectors.
Kasayama Shrine
As we’ve written about in earlier parts of this series, the prevalence of cat shrines is partly down to their integral role in protecting silkworm cocoons from mice in silk-producing regions. Another shrine related to cats and sericulture is Kasayama Shrine, situated on top of Mount Kasayama in Higashi-Chichibu.
Little to no information is forthcoming about exactly when it was built, not even on their official Twitter account, but the salient point here is a) they sell cat-themed goshūin on the 13th of every month; b) they hold the Spring Festival on 3 May, and the main festival on 23 November, during which they sell cat-themed talismans. The fortune slips come with a small ceramic cat handmade by one of the shrine priests whose hobby is making ceramics.
Getting here requires a car (or infrequent public transportation) and a willingness to hike up a mountain — it’s not the most onerous climb, but this is not for those who dislike exercise. For an idea of what the hike looks like, see this page. Kasayama Shrine also has a Twitter thread with driving directions to the start of the hike.
If you’d rather visit a sericulture shrine that doesn’t require climbing a mountain, consider visiting Chūbyo Shrine in Akita, Nishizaka Nekoinari Shrine in Fukushima, the Nekogami statue in Hanaizumi, Kotohira Shrine in Kyotango, or Nambu Shrine in Niigata.
Sakitama Shrine
According to the official shrine website, the prefecture of Saitama gets its name from Sakitama Shrine in Gyoda City. The shrine itself is more than 1,000 years old, with its main building situated on top of an old burial mound. It was previously named Saiwai-no-mitama Shrine until the 700s, when the surrounding territory was renamed from 前玉 to 埼玉. While the first kanji was changed, the reading remained ‘Sakitama’ for a long time. It’s the second set of characters which constitute the name ‘Saitama’ today.
Sakitama Shrine itself is not particularly prepossessing, and likely knows it, which is why it seems to have leaned into the cat branding. Four cats live on the shrine at present: Sakura the calico; the brown-and-white Kinako; Gaga the tabby cat; and Mint, a black cat. On the 22nd of each month, the shrine sells cat-themed goshūin featuring one of the four cats. On National Cat Day — 22 February — the goshūin features all four cats. It is, however, always good practice to check the website for its availability before visiting.
Besides the goshūin, visitors can also pick up cat-shaped ema (votive plaques) and kitty-themed fortune slips. Those who aren’t moved by the cute cat merchandise might consider visiting for the gorgeous flower arrangements on the purification fountains, which are on display for the first two weeks of every month.
Saga
The Cat Mound of Shūrin-ji Temple
In the quiet town of Shiroishi is an unremarkable Buddhist temple with a gripping backstory involving murder, suicide, and vengeful ghost-cats. Shūrin-ji is most known for its ‘cat mound’ and a stone carving of a seven-tailed cat that dates back to the Meiji era (1868-1912). Both elements are linked to the Nabeshima Bakeneko Disturbance, a legend that reputedly took place during the reign of Nabeshima Mitsushige, the feudal lord of the Saga Domain during the early Edo period.
The tale begins when Mitsushige orders his former master and retainer, Ryūzōji Matashichirō, to commit ritual suicide after a dispute in a game of Go. Matashichirō’s mother is struck by grief at losing her son, and commits suicide while pouring her heart out to her cat. The cat licks her blood and transforms into a bakeneko — literally, ‘monster cat’ — that haunts Mitsushige night after night, until a loyal retainer from the Chibu family finally kills the cat. In some versions of the story, the cat possesses Mitsushige’s wife, and she is the one killed. (Some of you may recall that this story is similar to the tale associated with Shōzen-in in Kumamoto.)
In 1853, the Kabuki playwright Segawa Jokō III incorporated this narrative into his play, Hanano no Saga nekomata zōshi. As its theatrical release coincided with a real succession conflict within the Nabeshima household, the clan demanded that the play be shut down and banned. But it was too late. The cat had been let out of the bag, so to speak, and the short run only sparked greater public interest in the story. This play is likely the reason bakeneko became more popular in kabuki plays afterwards.
But the story of the bakeneko doesn’t end there. The supernatural feline grudge was transferred to the Chibu family — they were not haunted per se, but no sons were born into the family for generations, and they were forced to adopt sons from other families to keep the name alive. Finally, the seventh-generation head of the family joined the dots, and had a scroll depicting a seven-tailed cat presented to Shūrin-ji as a way of appeasing the cat’s spirit. Sons were miraculously born to the family again.
Tochigi
Sleeping cat at Tōshōgū Shrine
Nikkō Tōshōgū Shrine needs little introduction. This UNESCO World Heritage Site enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, and draws thousands of visitors every day for its brilliantly-coloured, elaborately decorated shrine buildings. One of its most notable sculptures is the ‘Sleeping Cat’ at the East Corridor Gate, thought by some to represent the spirit of Ieyasu.
Measuring less than eight inches in size, this particular black-and-white cat resting amidst vivid carvings of red and white flowers was modelled after a crouching cat carved by master sculptor Hidari Jingorō, who is the kind of possibly-fictitious Renaissance man of an artist of whom many fantastic stories are told. For instance, there is the tale of him spending the majority of an eight-month period in seclusion studying how to carve lifelike wooden cats.
A pair of sparrows is depicted on the opposite side of the Sleeping Cat. They play freely in a bamboo forest, representing the end of a century of war and an era of peace. In other words, it’s best to let sleeping cats lie.
Written by Florentyna Leow