FELINE SHADOWS IN THE RISING SUN: CULTURAL V ALUES OF CATS IN PRE-MODERN JAPAN 1 DIEGO CUCINELLI (Sapienza University of Rome) As for cats, the most beautiful are those black on the back and white on the belly (Sei Shōnagon, Makura no S ōshi) 2 With these words Makura no Sōshi (The Pillow Book 枕草子, late X century), a cross-section of life and costumes of the imperial court of the Heian period (794 -1185), depicts the cat as a frivolous delight of nobles - probably the first ones in the Rising Sun to introduce it in domestic environments - during endless hours of idleness. This work is part of the large body of written sources that confirm the presence of the feline in Japan and its interaction with man more than 1000 years ago. In fact the history of this descendant of the smilodon stretches over billions of years and its roots are lost in time. 3 The cat underwent a difficult and somewhat jarring mutation, from killer beast of the cold North America to ever- present animal of the domestic hearth. Its natural ambiguity allowed it to go through the different stages of this process occupying, from time to time, new and often contrasting positions in different human and animal social contexts. As Detlef said, during the course of the ages “the cat has been worshipped and hated, welcomed and hunted, considered divine and satanic”. 4 Not few are the peoples who’ve had a special attitude towards it: at times respectful, at times pitiless and cruel. The Egyptians were the first to domesticate the felis silvestris lybica (African wild cat) and to make a divinity of him. Mummifying and putting it in the tombs, they made it a companion in the voyage towards the afterlife. After making his reputation as unerring mouse hunter, he became very popular in the cities of the Roman Empire and spread to most of Europe. During the Middle Ages it was associated to satanic worship, and often sent to the stake with its owners, considered to be witches by the Inquisition. Notwithstanding 1 We want to express our thankfulness to the reviewer for the availability and the helpful advices in evaluating this article. 2 The passage is taken from Sei Shōnagon 1991, p. 69 (English translation by the author). 3 The smilodon is the largest saber-toothed tiger to have ever existed: it could reach 5 feet long and 3 feet high. See Carroll 1988, p. 59. 4 Detlef 2008, p. 10 (English translation by the author).