Cats have had an up and down experience in Japan from being a pampered pet and adored in the Imperial Courts to having to fend for themselves in the streets of villages and the countryside.

The derivation of the word "Neko" which is cat in Japanese, is debated. Popular theories are the name "Neko" as derived from forms of words meaning "sleeping young", "resembling a tiger", or "waiting for a rat." All of these ideas are in keeping with the Japanese feelings for the cat’s beauty and hunting powers. Written with the compound Chinese Character "ne" (mouse or rat) and "ko" (classic form of expressing "likes"), neko means cat in Japanese which supposedly comes from the traditional tale of how the cat was named.

The saga of the Japanese Bobtail actually begins in China, where cats were portrayed before 2000 B.C., but it is generally accepted they appeared as fixtures in the Han era (2016 B.C. - A.D. 221). Ancient Chinese documents describe them as hunters of mice and slayers of hens, and valued for their destruction of rodents. Confucius, who lived in the Fifth Century B.C., is said to have had a favorite cat.

The cat became popular in Chinese art in the Sung Dynasty (AD 960-1279) and both children, dogs and cats in an aristocratic fashion. There is a longhair bobtailed cat in a painting from the same era, "Children Playing Games on a Winter Day." The children are purported to be the Emperor’s progeny.

Cats in Japan are inexorably linked to cats in China as it is believed the original domestic cats came with the Buddhist monks of Manchuria and Korea in 600-700 A.D. and were brought to keep rats out of the rice paper scrolls in the temples. However long before, the Ainu (original inhabitants of the Japanese Islands) myth of a giant monster which lived in one of the four corners of the world. At its death, flames consumed its body; the cat arose from the ashes.

It does appear that cats were revered as objects of great beauty. The Kokon Chobun Shu, a collection of famous anecdotes relates, "The Abbott Kwankyo at his mountain cottage found a very fine cat astray, from where it was not known, and he caught it and tamed it..." The conclusion is that the cat was already domesticated during the Nara period (710-794 A.D.).

Another Imperial reference, found in the annals of Japan, states, "On September 19, 999 in the reign of Emperor Ichijo, kittens were given birth at the Imperial Palace." Five beautiful white kittens were born to the white mother cat. This event so delighted the Emperor that he decreed the animals be brought up with care given infant princesses. Each kitten was presented with gifts and they were to remain in the Palace and were given the honorable Fifth Grade of the Court Rank so they could remain on the palace grounds - nobody without rank was admitted to the palace.

The cat in Japan enjoyed centuries of luxurious care in Japan. By the Fifteenth century, the production of silk had become one of Japan’s most important industries, and mice were attracted in great numbers to the silkworms. The cat was the solution, but the Imperial Court was reluctant to have their pets do such menial work. They thought if would be sufficient to have a statue of a cat or a cat. The government finally passed decrees stating that all cats were to be set free and it was forbidden to give, buy or sell cats. The newly freed cats saved the silk industry and the harvest from the voracious rodents.

A short story by Kaibara appeared in volume 16 of Yamato Honzo, written in 1708: "The cat differs from all other mammals in these nine points. First, it cleanses its face when it feels contentedly. Second, it purrs to express gladness. Thirdly, it sharpens its claws when full of valor. Fourthly, its female nurses the kittens of any other females with a perfectly good will. Fifthly, its pupils change their shapes according to the hours of the day. Sixthly, its nose is always cool at the tip. Seventhly, it rejoices when one strokes its throat. Eighthly, it perishes in a place quite out of human sight, as if it wills not to let man see its dying look, which is unusually ugly. Ninthly, it is very passionately fond of matatabi - not only does it eat it, but also it rubs its body with the roots, stem, and leaves of the plant, well knowing it is its superlative panacea."

The Japanese created their own unique art medium of multi-color wood-block printing and this type of art was avidly sought by the ordinary people. This art that the upper classes disdained was called Ukiyo-e or "art of the floating world." Among the favorite subjects of this art were beautiful women, especially courtesans, and cats were often portrayed with women.

In Japan the cat enjoys a revered position whether from religious faith, Buddhist in origin, or by superstition. In all animal cemeteries in Japan, services are held for the souls of dead cats and dogs. On such occasions people will visit the graves of cats who become famous by saving their master’s life, often in dramatic circumstances. There is a bridge in Tokyo dedicated to a cat who tried to relieve the poverty of its sick mistress by stealing small gold objects from a neighboring money lender; this bridge is the Nekomatabashi, is visited by the faithful.

On February 22, 1987, more than 400 cat lovers gathered in a Tokyo auditorium to celebrate Japan's first Cat Day. They offered prayers for their cats' longevity and paid respect to the tenacity of a cat that had journeyed 222 miles to return to its owner from whom it had become separated during a trip to the country.

Cat Day officials, after surveying almost 9,000 cat lovers, chose February 22 as Cat Day because the month and the day, 2/22, matched the number of miles the lost cat had traveled in search of its family. What's more, the pronunciation of 2/22 in Japanese, ni-ni-ni, resembles the sound of a cat meowing. Japan's population, 126 million, ranks ninth among the nations of the world. Japan is fourth, however, in cat population, with 8 million feline residents. The only country that outspends Japan on drugs and food additives for animals is the United States, and judging by the extent to which the Japanese are willing to pamper their pets, Japan stands second to none in its regard for cats and dogs. Many Japanese pets have their own water beds and gold jewelry; a number of resorts offer special menus and sleeping facilities for dogs and cats; and five years ago a record company in Japan hired composer Hiro Sakamuchi to write music designed for cats' and dogs' listening enjoyment while their owners were off at work. The compact disc of Sakamuchi's compositions sold out within days.