Bakeneko Name Generator

Names for Japan's shape-shifting cat spirits

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Generate bakeneko and nekomata names in the patterns of Japanese cat folklore: old-fashioned disguise names like Otama and Tamasaburou, glossed cat, lamp and night words like Kuroneko (black cat) and Oborozuki (hazy moon), and epithets like Old Cat of the Temple. Folklore names very few of its cats, so most entries are new names made in its pattern, with a small labeled share of legend figures such as Nabeshima no Neko.

About bakeneko names

A bakeneko is a "changed cat": in Japanese folklore, a house cat that has lived many years may start to walk on its hind legs, speak, dance with a towel on its head and lick the oil from the paper lamp, which in old town houses was often cheap fish oil. The nekomata is its fiercer cousin, an aged cat whose tail has forked in two. A fourteenth-century essay collection, Tsurezuregusa, already repeats the rumor of a nekomata in the deep mountains.

The tales rarely give these cats a name of their own. A cat in human shape borrows an ordinary name of its day, so the list leans on old-fashioned forms: women's names with the polite O- in front (Otama, Okiku, Osen) and men's names ending in -saburou, -kichi, -emon or -bei. Tama and Koma are themselves old cat names.

The 1,000 entries mix eight kinds of name: disguise names for women and for men, cat and coat words, lamp, fire and night words, epithets, legend-style place names, gentle household spirits and mountain nekomata. Japanese words carry a short gloss in parentheses, long vowels are spelled out (ou, uu), and the few figures taken from real legends say so in their gloss.

How to choose bakeneko names

  • Decide who is speaking. The cat picks its own disguise name (Okoma, Torakichi), while the neighbors invent the epithet (The Fork-Tailed One, Lamp-Oil Licker).
  • Pair the two for a full character: a plain human name for the first half of the story and an epithet or a place form like Furudera no Neko for the moment the tail shows.
  • For a gentle house spirit, look at the hearth and sleep words such as Kotatsu, Utatane and Nukumori; for a mountain nekomata, reach for Yamaoroshi, Kagizume or Hitokui.
  • Naming a pet? Use the word without its gloss. Short entries like Tama, Koma, Yoi and Suzu are easy to call across a room.
  • The glosses are brief and many Japanese words have more than one sense, so look a word up yourself before you print it in a book or game.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a bakeneko and a nekomata?

Both are cat yokai. Bakeneko means changed cat and usually describes a house cat that has gained strange powers with age, while a nekomata is drawn as older and more dangerous, with a tail split in two, and in the oldest stories it lives in the mountains. Storytellers often blur the two, so either word can sit beside any name here.

Are these real names from Japanese folklore?

Only a small share. Entries such as Nabeshima no Neko, Kasha and Gotoku-neko come from real legends and old yokai books, and their gloss says so. Folklore leaves most of its cats nameless, so the rest are new names built in the same pattern from real Japanese words and old given names.

Why do so many of the names mention lamps, oil and night?

The best-known sign of a bakeneko is a cat standing up at night to lick the oil from a lamp. That is why the list includes Andon (paper-shaded oil lamp), Abura (lamp oil) and Onibi (demon fire, a ghost light), along with moon and midnight words like Oborozuki and Ushimitsu.

What would a bakeneko call itself in human form?

Something ordinary for its time and place, because the point of the disguise is to pass unnoticed. Otama, Okiku and Oshizu suit a woman of an old town, Tamasaburou, Kurobei and Torakichi a man, and role names like Osato of the Oil Shop give the disguise a trade as well. A chapter title from The Tale of Genji, such as Yuugao or Ukifune, was also a stock professional name for court ladies and later for entertainers, which is why those titles are in the list.

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All 1,000 bakeneko names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 29 names

  • Abura (lamp oil)
  • Aburasashi (oil pourer)
  • Aburatsubo (oil jar)
  • Aburauri (oil peddler)
  • Aburaya (oil seller)
  • Aburaya no Mike (the oil shop's calico)
  • Aburazara (oil dish of a lamp)
  • Adashino no Kage (the shadow of the Adashino burial ground)
  • Agemaki (the trefoil knot)
  • Aibyou (beloved cat)
  • Akagane (copper)
  • Akatsuki (the dark just before dawn)
  • Akiya no Neko (the cat of the empty house)
  • Andon (paper-shaded oil lamp)

A, continued

  • Araburu (running wild)
  • Arashi (storm)
  • Ariake (the pale moon at daybreak)
  • Ariake Andon (the night-long bedside lamp)
  • Arima no Neko (the cat of the Arima house legend)
  • Asaborake (the faint light of early morning)
  • Asagao (morning glory)
  • Ashiato (footprint)
  • Auntie Kaji of the Dried-Fish Shop
  • Auntie Long-Whiskers
  • Awa no Shironeko (the white cat of Awa)
  • Ayakashi (an uncanny thing)
  • Ayano
  • Ayatori (the string game called cat's cradle)
  • Azumaya (the eastern cottage)

B: 14 names

  • Bachi (shamisen plectrum)
  • Bakeneko (changed cat)
  • Bakenokawa (the disguise that peels away)
  • Beckons with the Left Paw
  • Beckons with the Right Paw
  • Blue Flame at the Bedside
  • Bonbori (a small shaded lamp)
  • Borrowed Paws
  • Borrower of Faces
  • Bourei (spirit of the dead)
  • Buchi (patched)
  • Bunji the Bell Ringer
  • Bunkichi
  • Byoubu (folding screen)

C: 10 names

  • Chabudai (low dining table)
  • Chashiro (orange and white)
  • Chatora (orange tabby)
  • Chaya no Tama (Tama of the teahouse)
  • Chirimen (silk crepe, for a collar)
  • Chiyogiku
  • Chiyomaru
  • Chouchin (paper lantern)
  • Chouji the Lantern Maker
  • Chuubei of the Rice Store

D: 9 names

  • Daikokubashira (the main pillar of a house)
  • Dame Iso of the Fishing Village
  • Dancer on the Moonlit Roof
  • Dangai (a sheer cliff)
  • Denkichi the Candle Seller
  • Doma (the earthen-floored entry)
  • Doraneko (thieving alley cat)
  • Dotera (padded winter robe)
  • Dozou (earthen-walled storehouse)

E: 9 names

  • Echigo no Furuneko (the old cat of Echigo)
  • Egoma (perilla, an old source of lamp oil)
  • Ei the Traveler Who Asked for Lodging
  • Eizou the Pawnbroker
  • Elder of the Rooftops
  • Embers for Eyes
  • Engawa (the veranda)
  • Ennoshita (the space under the floor)
  • Eyes in the Rafters

F: 18 names

  • Forty Seasons a Mouser
  • Fubuki (blizzard)
  • Fujie
  • Fujiko
  • Fukemachi (the moon that rises deep in the night)
  • Fuku (good fortune)
  • Fukujirou
  • Fukumaneki (calling in good luck)
  • Fukumatsu

F, continued

  • Fukusuke
  • Fukutarou
  • Fukuzou
  • Furudera no Neko (the cat of the old temple)
  • Furuneko (old cat, the kind folklore says will change)
  • Fusa
  • Futamata (forked in two)
  • Fuuraibou (a vagabond blown in on the wind)
  • Fuurin (wind chime)

G: 27 names

  • Gakeppuchi (the cliff's edge)
  • Gankou (the glint of an eye)
  • Gen'an
  • Gensai
  • Gensuke
  • Genzou, Keeper of the Storehouse
  • Ginjirou
  • Ginme (silver eyes)
  • Ginnosuke
  • Ginpei
  • Ginzou
  • Gold Coins Unspent
  • Gonpachi

G, continued

  • Gorobei the Innkeeper
  • Gorogoro (purring)
  • Gotoku (trivet, the fire-blowing cat's crown in old art)
  • Gotoku-neko (the trivet-crowned cat of an old yokai book)
  • Goutokuji (the Tokyo temple of the beckoning cat)
  • Grandfather Tabby
  • Grandmother Cat of Mount Daisen
  • Grandmother Sada by the Stove
  • Grandmother Two-Tails
  • Granny Tose of the Tea Stall
  • Grave-Mound Sentinel
  • Gray Muzzle of the Rice Store
  • Great-Aunt Whiskers
  • Gyoyu (fish oil, the cheap lamp fuel cats crave)

H: 58 names

  • Hachiware (split like the figure eight, a masked face)
  • Hahakigi (the broom tree that fades as you near it)
  • Haiiro (ash gray)
  • Haikaburi (covered in ashes)
  • Hakubyou (white cat, in the bookish reading)
  • Hanachirusato (the village of falling blossoms)
  • Hanayakko
  • Harue
  • Haruyo
  • Hatsu
  • Hatsue
  • Hatsune (the first warbler's song)
  • Hatsuno
  • Hayagawari (the quick costume change of kabuki)

H, continued

  • He of the Two Shadows
  • Heikichi the Lamplighter
  • Heiroku of the Puppet Theater
  • Heisuke the Night Watchman
  • Heizutai (along the top of the wall)
  • Henge (a thing that has changed its shape)
  • Hetsuineko (hearth cat, a winter season word)
  • Hibachi (charcoal brazier)
  • Hibana (spark)
  • Hibashi (fire tongs)
  • Hida no Yamaneko (the wildcat of Hida)
  • Hidane (a live coal that starts the next fire)
  • Hidarite (the left paw, raised to call in guests)
  • Hide the Storyteller's Wife
  • Hideyo

H, continued

  • Hifukidake (the bamboo pipe for blowing a fire)
  • Hige (whiskers)
  • Higo no Kaibyou (the monster cat of Higo)
  • Hinoko (flying sparks)
  • Hisashi (the eaves)
  • Hisui (jade)
  • Hitochigai (mistaken identity)
  • Hitodama (a soul seen as a drifting flame)
  • Hitokui (man-eater)
  • Hitomi (pupil of the eye)
  • Hitonirami (one glare)
  • Hitonomi (one gulp)
  • Hitosarai (one who carries people off)
  • Hitozato (where people's houses begin)

H, continued

  • Hiuchi (flint and steel)
  • Hizakake (lap blanket)
  • Hizamakura (a lap for a pillow)
  • Hokage (firelight, and the shape seen by it)
  • Hokkamuri (a towel tied over the head and cheeks)
  • Honjo no Neko (the cat of Honjo, east of the river)
  • Honoakari (faint light)
  • Honoo (flame)
  • Honshou (true nature)
  • Horaana (a cavern)
  • Hoshiakari (starlight)
  • Hoshikuzu (stardust)
  • Hoshimaru
  • Hoshizukiyo (a night lit by stars alone)
  • Hotarubi (firefly light)

I: 24 names

  • Ieneko (house cat)
  • Ikazuchi (thunder, in the old word)
  • Ikiryou (the wandering spirit of the living)
  • Imachi (the moon you sit and wait for)
  • Imado (the Tokyo quarter known for beckoning-cat figures)
  • Inazuma (lightning)
  • Ine
  • Inka (shadow fire, the cold flame of ghosts)
  • Irekawari (a swap of places)
  • Irori (sunken hearth)
  • Isaburou the Ferryman
  • Isaribi (fishing fires on a night sea)

I, continued

  • Ishidourou (stone lantern)
  • Isourou (a lodger who pays nothing)
  • Ito (thread)
  • Itoko
  • Itomaki (spool)
  • Itomichi (thread path, the groove strings wear in a nail)
  • Iwakage (the lee of a rock)
  • Iwashi (sardine, pressed for lamp oil)
  • Iwaya (rock cave)
  • Iyo no Tama (Tama of Iyo)
  • Izayoi (the hesitant moon of the sixteenth night)
  • Izumo no Sabi (the tortoiseshell of Izumo)

J: 5 names

  • Jinpachi
  • Jinzaemon
  • Jizaikagi (the adjustable pot hook over a hearth)
  • Juubei
  • Juusan'ya (the thirteenth night)

K: 127 names

  • Kagami (mirror)
  • Kagaribi (watch fire in an iron basket)
  • Kageboushi (a cast shadow)
  • Kagee (shadow picture)
  • Kagehime (kage shadow + hime princess)
  • Kagemaru
  • Kagerou (heat shimmer, or the mayfly that lives a day)
  • Kagishippo (hooked tail)
  • Kagizume (hooked claw)
  • Kai no Kuroneko (the black cat of Kai)
  • Kaibyou (monster cat)
  • Kaika (a fire with no cause)
  • Kaiko (silkworm, the mouser's charge)
  • Kaimaki (a sleeved quilt)

K, continued

  • Kaineko (kept cat, a house cat)
  • Kajikeneko (the cat numb with cold, a winter season word)
  • Kakubei the Street Acrobat
  • Kamado (cooking stove)
  • Kamadoneko (a cat asleep in the warm stove, a winter word)
  • Kamekichi
  • Kametarou
  • Kamezou
  • Kamiato (bite mark)
  • Kamikakushi (spirited away)
  • Kane
  • Kangetsu (cold winter moon)
  • Kanroku
  • Kansuke the Old Retainer

K, continued

  • Kanta the Charcoal Burner's Boy
  • Karakkaze (the dry gale off the hills)
  • Karaneko (Chinese cat, an old court word)
  • Karasu (crow, for a coat of pure black)
  • Karisome (passing, for a little while)
  • Karitekita Neko (a borrowed cat, suddenly meek)
  • Kasha (the fiery cart that steals the dead, often a cat)
  • Kashiwagi (the oak, a Genji courtier undone by a cat)
  • Katteguchi (kitchen door)
  • Kawarimi (a quick change of stance)
  • Kawatare (the dim hour before dawn when faces blur)
  • Kayo
  • Keeper of the Empty House
  • Kehai (a presence felt, not seen)

K, continued

  • Kemonomichi (a trail only animals use)
  • Kemuri (smoke)
  • Keshizumi (snuffed charcoal)
  • Keshou (face paint, and an old word for a changed thing)
  • Kiba (fang)
  • Kiba wo Muku (baring the fangs)
  • Kijitora (brown tabby, pheasant-striped)
  • Kiku
  • Kikue
  • Kikugorou
  • Kikuji
  • Kikuko
  • Kikunojou
  • Kikunosuke

K, continued

  • Kikusaburou
  • Kikuyakko
  • Kikuyo
  • Kinbei
  • Kinjirou
  • Kinme (golden eyes)
  • Kinme Ginme (odd eyes, one gold and one silver)
  • Kinu (silk)
  • Kinuko
  • Kiritsubo (the paulownia court)
  • Kisaburou the Night Soba Seller
  • Kiso no Nekomata (the nekomata of the Kiso road)
  • Kisuke
  • Kizaemon

K, continued

  • Koban (the oval gold coin of the proverb)
  • Kochou (butterfly)
  • Kochou Dayuu (Butterfly, with a top entertainer's title)
  • Kofuji
  • Kofuku
  • Kogane (gold)
  • Kohaku (amber)
  • Koineko (cat in love)
  • Koito
  • Kokage (the shade under trees)
  • Kokubyou (black cat, in the bookish reading)
  • Kokutan (ebony)
  • Koma (an old cat name)
  • Koma Dayuu (Koma with a top entertainer's title)

K, continued

  • Komamaru
  • Komori (minding the baby)
  • Komoriuta (lullaby)
  • Koneko (kitten)
  • Kosome
  • Kosuzu (little bell)
  • Kotama
  • Kotatsu (the heated table)
  • Kotetsu
  • Kotoyo
  • Kotsuru
  • Kou wo Heta Neko (a cat that has lived through ages)
  • Koubai (red plum blossom)
  • Koume

K, continued

  • Kouta (a short song to the shamisen)
  • Kubi no Suzu (the bell on the cat's neck)
  • Kubitama (an old word for a cat's neck ring)
  • Kumagorou
  • Kumahei
  • Kumajirou
  • Kumakichi
  • Kumatarou
  • Kumazou
  • Kumezou
  • Kumihimo (braided cord)
  • Kumogakure (hidden in the clouds)
  • Kuni the Fish-Stall Regular
  • Kura (storehouse)

K, continued

  • Kurayami (pitch darkness)
  • Kuro Gozen (the Black Lady)
  • Kurobaba (kuro black + baba old woman)
  • Kurobei
  • Kurogane (black iron)
  • Kurohime (kuro black + hime princess)
  • Kurojirou
  • Kuromaru
  • Kuroneko (black cat)
  • Kurosuke
  • Kurouemon
  • Kurozaemon
  • Kyou the Fortune Teller
  • Kyuuso (the cornered rat that bites the cat)
  • Kyuusuke

L: 7 names

  • Lady Sawa of the West Wing
  • Lamp-Oil Licker
  • Last Light in the Corridor
  • Left No Footprints in the Ash
  • Left Out of the Zodiac
  • Long-Lived Calico
  • Long-Tail Under the Floor

M: 64 names

  • Maboroshi (phantom)
  • Madoromi (a light sleep)
  • Maki the Matchmaker
  • Makura (pillow)
  • Mameharu
  • Mamekiku
  • Mamori (a charm that protects)
  • Mamorigatana (the guard blade laid by the dead)
  • Manekineko (beckoning cat)
  • Mangetsu (full moon)
  • Marebito (the rare visitor from the other world)
  • Maroudo (guest, in the old word)

M, continued

  • Masa the Guest at the Wake
  • Masayo
  • Masu
  • Matabei
  • Mataemon
  • Matagorou
  • Matahachi
  • Matakichi
  • Matashichi
  • Matazou
  • Matsu
  • Matsugorou
  • Matsukaze (wind in the pines)

M, continued

  • Matsukichi
  • Matsunojou
  • Matsuyoi (the evening of waiting, the night before full)
  • Matsuzou
  • Mayaa (cat, in Okinawan)
  • Mayoiga (the lost house found only by wanderers)
  • Mayonaka (dead of night)
  • Mayudama (cocoon-ball charm of the silk farms cats guarded)
  • Migawari (a stand-in)
  • Migite (the right paw, raised to call in money)
  • Mikazuki (crescent moon)
  • Mike (three colors, a calico)
  • Mike Gozen (the Calico Lady)

M, continued

  • Mike-don (Calico, with the -don used for a shop servant)
  • Mikehime (mike calico + hime princess)
  • Mikeneko (calico cat)
  • Mikka (three days, how fast a cat is said to forget a favor)
  • Milk-White Mourner
  • Mimamori (watching over)
  • Mino the Weaver at the Night Loom
  • Miokuri (seeing you off)
  • Miss Uta the Koto Teacher
  • Mistress Chika of the Dye Works
  • Mistress of the Abandoned Inn
  • Misu (the bamboo blind a court cat pulled aside)
  • Mitsue

M, continued

  • Miyama (the far inner hills)
  • Miyo
  • Mizukagami (a reflection in water)
  • Mochizuki (the full moon, in the old word)
  • Mononoke (a spirit that possesses)
  • Mother Tami of the Post-Town Inn
  • Moto the Paper-Screen Mender
  • Mugetsu (a harvest moon hidden by cloud)
  • Mukaebi (the welcoming fire for returning spirits)
  • Munasawagi (unease in the chest)
  • Mushi no Shirase (a foreboding, word from the insect within)
  • Musubi (a knot)
  • Myoubu no Otodo (the Pillow Book's cat, ranked a lady)

N: 86 names

  • Nabeshima no Neko (the cat of the Nabeshima legend of Saga)
  • Nagahibachi (the long brazier of a town house)
  • Nagao (long tail)
  • Nagaremono (drifter)
  • Nagaya (row house)
  • Nagori (what lingers after)
  • Najimi (an old familiar)
  • Nanashi (nameless)
  • Nando (back storeroom)
  • Nani Kuwanu Kao (the face of one who ate nothing at all)
  • Nao the Seamstress
  • Naraku (the abyss)
  • Narikawari (taking another's place)
  • Natane (rapeseed, pressed for lamp oil)

N, continued

  • Negao (a sleeping face)
  • Neiro (tone of a string)
  • Neko mo Shakushi mo (every cat and ladle, meaning everyone)
  • Neko ni Katsuobushi (dried bonito left with a cat)
  • Neko ni Koban (gold coins before a cat)
  • Neko no Hitai (a cat's forehead, a tiny patch of ground)
  • Neko no Ko (kitten, a spring season word)
  • Neko no Koi (cats in love, a spring season word)
  • Neko no Me (a cat's eye, forever changing)
  • Neko no Odori (the cats' dance of the folktales)
  • Neko no Sara (the cat's dish, a comic tale of a sly bargain)
  • Neko no Te (a cat's paw, the help you would even borrow)
  • Neko no Tsuma (a cat's mate, a spring season word)
  • Neko-dono (Sir Cat)

N, continued

  • Nekoashi (cat-foot stance)
  • Nekobaba (quietly pocketing a find)
  • Nekodake (the Aso peak where cats are said to gather)
  • Nekodamashi (the startling clap of sumo, a cat trick)
  • Nekodanka (the cat parishioner of a temple folktale)
  • Nekodera (cat temple)
  • Nekoe (a cat picture hung to scare off mice)
  • Nekogami (cat god)
  • Nekogami-sama (the honored cat god)
  • Nekoguruma (cat cart, a wheelbarrow)
  • Nekoita (the board on a long brazier where the cat sits)
  • Nekojarashi (foxtail grass, the cat teaser)
  • Nekojita (cat's tongue, one who shuns hot food)
  • Nekojizou (a guardian Jizo statue honoring a cat)
  • Nekokaburi (wearing the cat, a show of innocence)

N, continued

  • Nekokawaigari (doting, as one dotes on a cat)
  • Nekokke (soft cat hair)
  • Nekoma (an early word for cat)
  • Nekomadake (Mount Nekoma, the cat-demon peak near Bandai)
  • Nekomanma (cat's rice)
  • Nekomata (fork-tailed cat spirit)
  • Nekomata of Mount Ibuki
  • Nekomatabashi (Nekomata Bridge, an old Tokyo place name)
  • Nekomatagi (fish so poor a cat steps over it)
  • Nekomatayama (Mount Nekomata, a real peak in Toyama)
  • Nekomatazaka (Nekomata Slope, an old Tokyo place name)
  • Nekome (cat's eye)
  • Nekomichi (cat path)
  • Nekonadegoe (a coaxing, cat-stroking voice)

N, continued

  • Nekotsuki (possession by a cat spirit)
  • Nekoyanagi (pussy willow)
  • Nekozame (cat shark)
  • Nekoze (cat's back, a stoop)
  • Nekozuka (cat mound, a grave for a cat)
  • Nekozuki (cat lover)
  • Nemachi (the moon you lie down to wait for)
  • Nenneko (hush-a-bye, a word from lullabies)
  • Neuneu (how a cat cries in The Tale of Genji)
  • Nezu (mouse gray)
  • Nezumitori (mouser)
  • Nezumiyoke (a charm against mice)
  • Nikukyuu (paw pads)
  • Nisemono (an impostor)

N, continued

  • Nizaemon
  • Nobu the Mother-in-Law Who Changed
  • Nobuyo
  • Nokishita (under the eaves)
  • Noraneko (stray cat)
  • Noroshi (signal smoke)
  • Nowaki (the autumn gale)
  • Nubatama (the jet-black seed that old poems use for night)
  • Nui
  • Nukemichi (a secret way through)
  • Nukiashi (silent tiptoe)
  • Nukumori (warmth)
  • Nurse Seki of the Inner Rooms
  • Nushi (the old master of a pond or peak)
  • Nyaago (a long yowl)

O: 79 names

  • Oaki
  • Obake (a ghost, a changed thing)
  • Oboro Gozen (the Lady of the Haze)
  • Oboro no Mae (Lady Haze, in a court style)
  • Oborohime (oboro haze + hime princess)
  • Oboroyo (a night of hazy moonlight)
  • Oborozuki (hazy moon)
  • Oborozukiyo (the night of the hazy moon)
  • Ochiyo
  • Odoriba (a Yokohama spot named for cats dancing at night)
  • Odoriko (dancer)
  • Ofuji
  • Ofuyu

O, continued

  • Ohana Who Came with the Rain
  • Oharu
  • Ohisa
  • Oil-Dish Thief
  • Oito
  • Okane
  • Okayo
  • Okazaki no Neko (the monster cat of a kabuki play)
  • Okibi (banked embers)
  • Okiku
  • Okinu
  • Okoma
  • Okou the Lamp Seller's Wife

O, continued

  • Okuma
  • Okuribi (the fire that sends the spirits home)
  • Okuyama no Nekomata (deep-mountain cat of an old essay)
  • Old Cat of the Temple
  • Old Moss-Back
  • Old Mother Mouser
  • Old Riku the Midwife
  • Old Soot-Paws
  • Old Toki Who Minds the Shrine
  • Omine
  • Omitsu
  • Omokage (a face that lingers in memory)
  • Omukae (coming out to meet you)

O, continued

  • Onami the Shamisen Teacher
  • Onatsu
  • Oneko-sama (the honored cat)
  • Onibi (demon fire, a ghost light)
  • Onnen (a grudge that outlives the body)
  • Ooneko (great cat)
  • Oran
  • Orui
  • Oryuu
  • Osananajimi (a friend since childhood)
  • Osato of the Oil Shop
  • Osayo
  • Osen

O, continued

  • Oshige
  • Oshima
  • Oshizu
  • Osode
  • Osono
  • Osuzu
  • Otakebi (a war cry)
  • Otaki of the Bathhouse
  • Otama
  • Otane
  • Otatsu
  • Otedama (beanbags for juggling)
  • Otetsu

O, continued

  • Otoku
  • Otomi
  • Otora
  • Otoyo
  • Otsuna
  • Otsuru
  • Otsuta of the Riverside Teahouse
  • Otsuya
  • Otsuyu
  • Oumagatoki (the twilight hour of meeting evil)
  • Oyaneko (parent cat)
  • Oyone
  • Oyoshi
  • Oyuki

P: 1 name

  • Purrs-in-the-Dark

R: 15 names

  • Raimei (thunderclap)
  • Rain-on-the-Coffin
  • Raku the Wet Nurse
  • Rider of the Burning Cart
  • Rin the New Maid Who Eats Alone
  • Rinka (phosphor fire, a will-o'-the-wisp)
  • Risuke the Oil Peddler
  • Robata (the hearthside)
  • Roji (alley)
  • Roku, Seller of Dried Sardines
  • Roubyou (aged cat)
  • Rousoku (candle)
  • Ruri (lapis blue, for the eyes)
  • Rusuban (the one who minds the house)
  • Ryouan

S: 92 names

  • Sabatora (silver tabby, mackerel-striped)
  • Sabi (rust, a tortoiseshell)
  • Sabihime (sabi rust + hime princess)
  • Sado no Mike (the calico of Sado)
  • Sakaki (the sacred evergreen)
  • Saki the Bride No One Had Met
  • Sakubei the Fishmonger
  • Sanchuu (deep in the mountains)
  • Sannen (three years, the favor a cat forgets)
  • Sashichi the Rat Catcher
  • Sato
  • Satsuma no Buchi (the patched cat of Satsuma)
  • Sawaichi

S, continued

  • Sawarabi (early fern shoots)
  • Sayo (evening, an old poetic word)
  • Seibei of the Lantern Shop
  • Seikichi the Blind Masseur
  • Senkichi
  • Senkyaku Banrai (a thousand guests, ten thousand visits)
  • Sennosuke
  • Senobi (a long stretch)
  • Sentarou
  • Senzou
  • Seven Generations' Grudge
  • Seven Years by the Hearth
  • Seven-Lives Vengeance

S, continued

  • Shakushi (ladle, the cat's partner in the saying)
  • Shamisen (the three-stringed lute, a sore subject for cats)
  • She of the Forked Shadow
  • She Who Licks the Lamp
  • Shichidai (seven generations, the span of a cat's grudge)
  • Shiigamoto (at the foot of the chinquapin tree)
  • Shikii (threshold)
  • Shimo (frost)
  • Shimohime (shimo frost + hime princess)
  • Shin the Page with Amber Eyes
  • Shingetsu (new moon)
  • Shino the Abbot's Housekeeper
  • Shinobiashi (stealthy steps)

S, continued

  • Shinonome (the first light in the east)
  • Shinpachi the Gatekeeper
  • Shinzan (a remote peak)
  • Shippo wo Dasu (to show the tail and give oneself away)
  • Shiragiku
  • Shiranui (the unknown fires seen out at sea)
  • Shirobei
  • Shirokuro (white and black)
  • Shironeko (white cat)
  • Shirosaburou
  • Shirotae (pure white, a word from old poems)
  • Shirouemon
  • Shitarigao (a smug look)

S, continued

  • Shizu
  • Shizue
  • Shizuko
  • Shizuno
  • Shokudai (candlestand)
  • Shouji (paper screen, where the true shadow shows)
  • Shoutai (true form)
  • Shun the Hairdresser
  • Shuunen (the tenacity of a grudge)
  • Sister Myoushin of the Hill Convent
  • Sits on the Brazier Board
  • Sleeps on the Rice Chest
  • Smoke with Whiskers

S, continued

  • Somegorou
  • Someji
  • Somenosuke
  • Sorame (a thing mis-seen)
  • Soramimi (a thing misheard)
  • Sorane (a feigned cry, or feigned sleep)
  • Sorani (a chance likeness)
  • Soshiranu Kao (a face that pretends not to know)
  • Speaks-at-Midnight
  • Split-Tail of the Storehouse
  • Stands-on-Two-Legs
  • Steps Over the Sleeper
  • Sue

S, continued

  • Suetsumuhana (safflower)
  • Sugao (the bare face under the paint)
  • Sugatami (a full-length mirror)
  • Sugi the Nun Who Begs at Dusk
  • Sumashigao (a prim, composed face)
  • Sumi (ink black)
  • Sumibi (charcoal fire)
  • Sumie
  • Susu (soot)
  • Susukino (a field of pampas grass)
  • Suzu (bell)
  • Suzuhime (suzu bell + hime princess)
  • Suzumushi (bell cricket)
  • Suzunari (bells in a cluster)

T: 196 names

  • Tachimachi (the moon you stand and wait for)
  • Tail Showing Under the Hem
  • Taimatsu (pine torch)
  • Take
  • Takemaru
  • Takematsu
  • Takeru (the fierce one)
  • Takezou
  • Takibi (bonfire)
  • Tama (jewel, the classic name for a house cat)
  • Tama Gozen (Lady Tama, in the style of a great house)
  • Tama no Mae (Lady Tama, in a court style)
  • Tama-bou (Tama, with a boy's or monk's ending)
  • Tama-sama (honored Tama)

T, continued

  • Tamae
  • Tamagiku
  • Tamagorou
  • Tamahime (tama jewel + hime princess)
  • Tamaichi
  • Tamaji
  • Tamajirou
  • Tamakazura (the jeweled garland)
  • Tamaki
  • Tamakichi
  • Tamako
  • Tamamaru
  • Tamami
  • Tamana

T, continued

  • Tamano
  • Tamanojou
  • Tamanosuke
  • Tamao
  • Tamasaburou
  • Tamatarou
  • Tamayo
  • Tamayura (a fleeting moment)
  • Tamazou
  • Tanba no Ooneko (the great cat of Tanba)
  • Tanizoko (the valley floor)
  • Tashirojima (a cat island off Miyagi)
  • Tasogare (dusk, when you ask who goes there)
  • Tatari (a curse sent by a wronged spirit)

T, continued

  • Tatsugorou the Fire Watchman
  • Tatsumaki (whirlwind)
  • Tei, Maid of the Upper House
  • Tenjouura (the space above the ceiling)
  • Tenugui (hand towel, worn on the head by dancing cats)
  • Teru of the Dumpling Shop
  • Teshoku (hand-held candle holder)
  • Tetsugorou
  • Tetsukichi
  • Tetsunosuke
  • Tetsuzou
  • The Ancient of the Attic
  • The Asakusa Back-Street Dancer
  • The Awaji Puppet-House Cat

T, continued

  • The Black Cat of Hakone
  • The Borrowed Grandmother
  • The Calico of Usui Pass
  • The Cat Among the Ladles
  • The Cat as Heavy as a Rice Bale
  • The Cat at the Ootsu Gate
  • The Cat of Mariko Station
  • The Cat of Sarusawa Pond
  • The Cat of Suzuka Pass
  • The Cat of the Fushimi Sake Cellars
  • The Cat of the Kanaya Ford
  • The Cat Past Counting Years
  • The Cat Who Learned to Walk Upright
  • The Cat Who Stayed Too Long

T, continued

  • The Coffin Leaper
  • The Dowager Lady Taka
  • The Elder with Lamp-Bright Eyes
  • The Face That Ate Nothing
  • The Flame That Follows
  • The Fork-Tailed One
  • The Fukagawa Timberyard Cat
  • The Gion Lantern Cat
  • The Gray One of Mount Haguro
  • The Green Eyes at the Well
  • The Grudge with Nine Lives
  • The Guest Who Would Not Eat Hot Rice
  • The Hundred-Year Mouser
  • The Innkeeper with Too Many Teeth

T, continued

  • The Kusatsu Post-House Cat
  • The Kuwana Clam-Shop Cat
  • The Lady Who Never Casts a Shadow
  • The Last of the Litter
  • The Maid with the Narrow Pupils
  • The Mouser of Mount Kouya
  • The Night-Crying Cat of Nissaka
  • The Noto Fishing-Shed Cat
  • The Nun Who Purrs
  • The Oki Island Castaway
  • The Old Cat of Mount Hiei
  • The One Behind the Sliding Door
  • The One the Mice Remember
  • The One the Rat Tricked

T, continued

  • The One Who Answered Back
  • The One Who Outlived Three Masters
  • The Paw Under the Door
  • The Paying Guest Who Never Pays
  • The Ryougoku Bridge Stray
  • The Sanuki Salt-Field Cat
  • The Sardine-Oil Ghost
  • The Seki Barrier Cat
  • The Senju Ferry Cat
  • The Shadow on the Paper Screen
  • The Shinagawa Inn Cat
  • The Small Hours Caller
  • The Storm Over the Funeral
  • The Tabby of the Kiso Gorge

T, continued

  • The Tail That Parted
  • The Tenma Market Cat
  • The Thing the Dog Barked At
  • The Third Shamisen String
  • The Thirteenth Animal
  • The Towel Dancer
  • The Tsushima Wildcat
  • The Uji Bridge Cat
  • The Unblinking Guest
  • The Venerable Ratter
  • The Voice in the Next Room
  • The Wakasa Mackerel Road Cat
  • The White Cat of Mount Hakusan
  • The Widow Suga

T, continued

  • Thirteen Winters
  • Three Days' Gratitude
  • Three Tails and Counting
  • Tobari (a hanging curtain)
  • Tobokegao (a blank, innocent look)
  • Tokonatsu (the wild pink of endless summer)
  • Tokonoma (the alcove)
  • Tokuichi
  • Tome
  • Tomi the Flower Seller
  • Tomie
  • Tomiichi
  • Tomo the Chambermaid
  • Tomoshibi (lamplight)

T, continued

  • Tomoshibi Gozen (the Lady of the Lamplight)
  • Tooboe (a far-off howl)
  • Tora-bou (Tabby, with a boy's or monk's ending)
  • Tora-kou (Tabby, said roughly)
  • Torababa (tora tabby + baba old woman)
  • Toragorou
  • Torahiko
  • Torahime (tora tabby + hime princess)
  • Toraichi
  • Torajirou
  • Torakichi
  • Toramaru
  • Toramatsu
  • Toraneko (tabby cat)

T, continued

  • Toranosuke
  • Torasaburou
  • Torazou
  • Toribeno no Hi (the fire of the Toribeno burial ground)
  • Tosa no Tora (the tabby of Tosa)
  • Toubei the Tofu Seller at Dawn
  • Touge (the pass)
  • Toumyou (a votive light)
  • Tourou (standing lantern)
  • Toushin (lamp wick)
  • Toyo
  • Tsugi the Girl from the Next Village
  • Tsugomori (the dark last night of the month)
  • Tsukegi (kindling slip)

T, continued

  • Tsuki ni Murakumo (clouds across the moon, joy cut short)
  • Tsukiakari (moonlight)
  • Tsukikage (moonlight, or a shape seen in it)
  • Tsukimachi (waiting for the moon to rise)
  • Tsukimaru
  • Tsukimi (moon viewing)
  • Tsukimono (a spirit that takes hold of a person)
  • Tsukishiro (the glow before moonrise)
  • Tsukiyo (moonlit night)
  • Tsukiyomi (the moon reader, a god of the night)
  • Tsukuyo (moonlit night, in the oldest poems)
  • Tsume (claw)
  • Tsumeato (claw marks)
  • Tsumetogi (sharpening the claws)

T, continued

  • Tsumuji (a twisting gust)
  • Tsune
  • Tsuneyo
  • Tsuridourou (hanging lantern)
  • Tsuru
  • Tsurukichi
  • Tsuruko
  • Tsurumatsu
  • Tsuruzou
  • Tsutayakko
  • Tsuya (gloss, as on a well-licked coat)
  • Tsuyako
  • Two Tails by Firelight
  • Two-Tails of Togakushi

U: 30 names

  • Ukareneko (the roaming, lovesick cat of spring haiku)
  • Ukifune (a drifting boat)
  • Ume
  • Umegae (a plum branch)
  • Umekichi
  • Umematsu
  • Umetarou
  • Umezou
  • Umineko (sea cat, the black-tailed gull)
  • Unari (a growl)
  • Unarigoe (growling voice)
  • Unosuke the Sake Brewer's Clerk
  • Uradana (back-alley tenement)
  • Uraguchi (back door)
  • Urami (a grudge)

U, continued

  • Urushi (black lacquer)
  • Usaburou
  • Ushimitsu (the dead of night, deep in the ox hour)
  • Ushiromi (a guardian, one who watches your back)
  • Usuakari (dim light)
  • Usugumo (thin clouds)
  • Usuzuki (thin, veiled moon)
  • Usuzumi Dayuu (Pale Ink, with a top entertainer's title)
  • Utakata (foam on the water)
  • Utatane (a doze)
  • Utsurika (lingering scent)
  • Utsuroi (fading, the change of color)
  • Utsusemi (the empty shell of a cicada)
  • Utsushie (a likeness, a projected picture)
  • Uzumibi (embers buried in ash)

W: 11 names

  • Wagahai (I, said grandly, as a famous nameless cat says it)
  • Wakamurasaki (young murasaki)
  • Wakana (young spring greens)
  • Walker of Rooftops
  • Watashiba no Kuro (Blackie of the ferry landing)
  • Watcher from the Rafters
  • Wears-Her-Mistress
  • Whiskers Behind the Screen
  • Wick-Biter
  • Widow Taki of the Back Alley
  • Wise One of the Woodpile

Y: 87 names

  • Yabu (bamboo scrub)
  • Yadonashi (one with no home)
  • Yadorigi (mistletoe, the lodger in another's tree)
  • Yaegiku
  • Yagorou the Mountain Porter
  • Yaiba (blade)
  • Yakuyoke (warding off ill luck)
  • Yamabiko (the echo that answers)
  • Yamadera no Neko (the cat of the mountain temple)
  • Yamaji (mountain path)
  • Yamamichi (a mountain road)
  • Yamanari (the rumbling of a mountain)
  • Yamaneko (wildcat)
  • Yamaneko-dono (Sir Wildcat)

Y, continued

  • Yamanokami (the god of the mountain)
  • Yamaoku (the back of the mountains)
  • Yamaoroshi (the wind that drops off a peak)
  • Yami (darkness)
  • Yamihime (yami darkness + hime princess)
  • Yamiyo (moonless night)
  • Yanaka no Koma (Koma of Yanaka, the temple quarter)
  • Yaneura (the attic)
  • Yanezutai (from roof to roof)
  • Yashikigami (the guardian god of a homestead)
  • Yasu
  • Yasuke of the Noodle Cart
  • Yoarashi (a storm in the night)
  • Yoaruki (walking by night)
  • Yobanashi (a tale told at night)

Y, continued

  • Yofuke (late at night)
  • Yogatari (talk that lasts the night)
  • Yogi (night bedding)
  • Yogiri (night mist)
  • Yohei
  • Yoi (early evening)
  • Yoi Gozen (the Lady of Early Evening)
  • Yoi no Kimi (yoi early evening + kimi lady)
  • Yoichi
  • Yoimachi (waiting for evening)
  • Yoiyami (the dark of early evening before moonrise)
  • Yoizuki (the moon seen only in the early evening)
  • Yokaze (night wind)
  • Yokobue (the side-blown flute)

Y, continued

  • Yomawari (the night rounds)
  • Yomogiu (a garden gone to wormwood)
  • Yomosugara (all night long)
  • Yonabe (work done late by lamplight)
  • Yonaka (midnight)
  • Yonaki (crying in the night)
  • Yonayona (night after night)
  • Yone
  • Yoneko
  • Yoriai (a gathering, as of cats at night)
  • Yorisoi (keeping close beside)
  • Yoru no Tobari (the curtain of night)
  • Yoruko
  • Yosaburou
  • Yosaku

Y, continued

  • Yosamu (the chill of the night)
  • Yoshichi
  • Yoshino no Roubyou (the aged cat of Yoshino)
  • Yosomono (outsider)
  • Yotsuyu (night dew)
  • Yousan (silk raising, the trade that prized cats)
  • Yowa (the middle of the night, an old word)
  • Yozaemon
  • Yozakura (cherry blossoms at night)
  • Yozora (night sky)
  • Yuki (snow)
  • Yukiakari (the glow of snow at night)
  • Yukichi
  • Yukie

Y, continued

  • Yukino
  • Yukinojou
  • Yukioroshi (snow driven down from a peak)
  • Yukue Shirezu (whereabouts unknown)
  • Yume no Ukihashi (the floating bridge of dreams)
  • Yuu the Stepmother
  • Yuugao (evening face, the moonflower)
  • Yuugiri (evening mist)
  • Yuukoku (a dim ravine)
  • Yuunosuke
  • Yuurei (ghost)
  • Yuuyami (the dark after sunset)
  • Yuuzou
  • Yuuzuki (evening moon)
  • Yuuzutsu (the evening star)

Z: 2 names

  • Zangetsu (the moon left in the morning sky)
  • Zenbei the Grave Keeper