is placed near the head of the corpse when it is laid out for burial, this latter precaution having the advantage not only of keeping away cats (which sometimes contain a kind of demon[1]), but also that of keeping all evil supernatural beings away. But if, as sometimes happens in spite of the above precautions, a cat jumps upon the body and causes it to arise, it is considered that the proper procedure is to strike the corpse with a bamboo-broom, upon which it will instantly lose the semblance of life it has taken on [Yokohama]. The informant from whom I received the above information added that it is because of this employment of a bamboo-broom that to strike a living person with one is considered to be exceedingly insulting, and liable to affect seriously in some way the person struck (compare infra, p. 199). Concerning the use of the broom against walking corpses, Titsingh says[2] "It is asserted that if a cat springs upon a corpse, the person revives; that if he then be struck with a broom, he sinks lifeless again; but that if he be struck with anything else he still continues to live. For this reason it is strictly forbidden to drive away cats with brooms."[3]
To enter into a discussion of the Japanese beliefs bearing upon the effects of cats on human corpses, or upon the protective virtues attributed to knives where supernatural beings are concerned, would take us far afield. With respect to the taboo against cats touching or passing over corpses, we may observe that it is to be found distributed over a wide area. Thus, to take a couple of examples
- ↑ For much information concerning the supernatural attributes of cats, see M. W. de Visser's "The Dog and the Cat in Japanese Superstition," in Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan, vol. xxxvii.
- ↑ Op. cit. p. 252.
- ↑ This prohibition, which I have not seen or heard referred to elsewhere, looks as if it were based on a fear lest the action in question might presage a death in the family. It is perhaps interesting to recall, in connection with this prohibition, the associations in European folklore of witches with cats and with brooms.
