Nagasaki’s captivating bob-tailed cats

In Japan, bobtail cats are considered good luck, and Nagasaki is the place to find them.

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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.

Chinese roots

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 neighbouring 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.”