Nemuri-neko ( or , "sleeping cat", from ''nemuri'', "sleeping/peaceful" and ''neko'', "cat") is a famous

wood carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

Hidari Jingorō was a possibly fictitious Japanese artist. Some people and sources state his real name was Itami Toshikatsu. A Renaissance man, he worked as a sculptor, carpenter, painter, architect, comedian, actor, ''kōdanshi'' (rhythmical storyteller) and pr ...

(左甚五郎の作) located in the East corridor at Tōshō-gū Shrine (日光東照宮) in

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The Japanese sleeping cat is modeled after the famous crouching nemurineko carving by Hidari Jingorō. Based on the writing of Zempei Matsumura's book, ''Nikkō Tōshō-gū Shrine and Jingorō Hidari'' published by

Nohi Publishing Company Nohi is a sub-prefecture of Ennedi Region Ennedi Region was a former region of Chad. It was created in 2008 from the Ennedi Est Department and Ennedi Ouest Department of the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region. The capital of the Ennedi r ...

in 1975:

Hidari Jingorō loved cats and was fascinated by cats. Jingorō spent eight months in seclusion to refine his knowledge and technique in wood sculpturing. He spent the majority of his time studying, sculpturing, and carving wooden cats that appeared lifelike in various shapes.

According to Matsumura, it was Jingorō's goal to carve and sculpture lifelike cats by making "utmost efforts in the future to create a new style in the field of sculpturing". Prior to his seclusion, Jingorō was an apprentice for the Chief Architect Hokyo Yoheiji Yusa of the

Imperial Court in Kyoto The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji gov ...

where he studied how to build temples, shrines, and sculptures. Through Jingorō's insight and new technique, animal sculpturing would take a new direction in Japan, a realistic appearance of an animal due to fine detailed sculpturing by the artist. Jingorō's approach in detailed wood sculpturing would later have an effect in other areas of Japanese art, namely, ceramic animals. This creative attention to detailing sculptured cats can be seen throughout the history of Japan, and more applicably in the ceramic arts. It is the fine detailed realistic life like cats that fascinates cat collectors, and makes these special type of cats highly desirable and collectible. Matsumura also states, Nemuri Neko "Sleeping Cat symbolizes Nikkō or the Spirit of Ieyasu, who was thought to be the manifestation of

Yakushi Nyorai Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

", the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

of Healing, who offers medicinal remedies, gives nourishment to the mind, body, and spirit, and comforts the sick and cures illnesses. The nemuri neko is a National Treasure in Japan, and has been of inspiration to Japanese artists and artists around the world for centuries.

Gallery

Image:nikko nemurineko-2.jpg, Circa 1893 hand-colored collotype photograph by the famous Japan photographer, Kazumasa Ogawa, showing close-up -wood carving of nemuri-neko sleeping cat at Nikkō Tōshō-gū Shrine. Image:Ningyo nemurineko-1.jpg, Photograph showing ningyo clay doll depicting nemuri-neko sleeping cat hand painted with peony Image:nikko nemurineko-1.jpg, Circa 1890s albumen photograph showing carving of nemuri-neko sleeping cat above kugurimon gate File:nemurineko prayer board-1.jpg, Photograph showing close-up wooden prayer board of nemurineko sleeping cat, reads 眠猫左甚五郎の作牡丹の花咲く下に日の光を浴びて子猫が転た寝しているところで日光を現わす絶妙の奥義を極めている。

References

* Zempei Matsumura, ''Nikkō Tōshō-gū Shrine and Hidari Jingorō'',

, 1975. Japanese art

Gallery

See also

References