Cats are the most mysterious of household pets: They are nocturnal creatures; they are capable of love as well as contemptuous indifference to humankind; they seemingly have the power to disappear.
In the West, they are associated with witchcraft. In Japan, according to Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, felines have a dangerous agency all their own.
Illustrated with traditional woodcuts depicting cats in fearsome, vampiric poses, folklorist Zack Davisson collects many old tales of killer felines, cats that kept returning despite the best efforts of owners to lose them, creatures capable of cursing people who crossed them.
In recent decades, Davisson adds, cats have mellowed into a more benign presence in manga and anime. Hello Kitty, anyone?
