The History of Neko
Think of this lovely photo as the cover to your History lesson today… designed to reflect the artistic style of Japanese manga covers (for a very specific reason, as you’ll come to see). Open it up and turn to the chapter titled “History of Neko 101.” Are you wearing your perquisite Japanese schoolgirl uniform? Excellent. Let us explore the history and evolution of Nekos, shall we?
The History of Neko (as best as this schoolgirl can tell):
In the early 90’s, a Japanese girl named Aoi Hiiragi wrote a manga (Japanese “comic book”) series called “Whisper of the Heart” (or Mimi o Sumaseba 耳をすませば). In them, she introduced a mysterious but elegantly dressed silver cat named The Baron. Her mangas inspired an anime movie in 1995, as well as a sequel in 2002 called “The Cat Returns” (Neko no Ongaeshi 猫の恩返し).
Although both animes featured The Baron, it was the storyline of the second anime that likely contributed to the birth of “dressing up Neko.” The story went like this:
A young schoolgirl was captured and taken to the Cat Realm by force, where she was expected to marry the Prince of the Cat Kingdom against her will. During a pre-nuptual feast, she began magically transforming into a Neko (human shape with paws, ears, and whiskers), in preparation for the ceremony. Before the transformation was complete however, The Baron and other cats helped her escape.
Yet… like so many Nekos I’ve spoken to in Second Life, a strange thing happened: The tail and ears gradually began to “feel right” as she discovered her true self, and acknowledged her feelings for The Baron.
Not long after, Japanese girls doing cosplay (costume play) began dressing up Neko (which means “cat” in Japanese). But they weren’t alone, and definitely not the first to identify with cats in a human way (just think of Egypt and the goddess Bastet)...
Over in the U.S., American girls had been taking inspiration from such sources as Catwoman (one of the villains in the Batman comics of the 1940s), Josie and the Pussycats cartoons in the 1970s, not to mention the 1980s musical Cats.
In Japan, manga (comic books) had been depicting cat girls (sometimes called Nekomusume or Nekomimi) as far back as the 1950s, quite possibly as an evolution of ancient folklore stories about Bakeneko. (A far more in-depth history can be found on this page of my blog).
So what do you get when you combine all of these influences, and mix gently in a virtual world? The birth of Nekos in Second Life…
The Early Days of Neko in SL
Once again, the luck of my nine Neko lives was with me when I met Fa Nyak — one of SL’s early Nekos (and designer / owner of the store: >(O.o)< on Mew Island).
“I remember when I first started selling the kitty animation overrides, Neko didn’t even exist as a search term,” recalled Fa, pictured at right. “That picked up a year or so later. But there were only like two other stores with anything… basically a bell collar or something like that.”
So if “Neko” wasn’t a common term, what did they call themselves? “We called it catgirl,” Fa shrugged. “In fact I was really wierded out when everyone started calling it by the Japanese word Neko… I had always just said catgirl!” (I suspect the term Neko may have come about as more and more Japanese joined Second Life; they seemed to take the whole concept of dressing and being Neko to a much higher level.)
During SL’s second year, Fa said with a smile and a headshake, the “Neko thing really took off, and now I don’t think I even show up in the search for Neko anymore, I’m so buried under all the malls and random shops.” (I’m hoping this blog will help…)
So there you have it. Born of a strong affinity for all things feline, rooted in Japanese manga and American comics, inspired by anime, and now living and evolving in the virtual world of Second Life (and other virtual worlds)… it seems we Nekos have a pretty fascinating history. (Don’t worry, there will be no test; the Baron already gave me an A+.) ^_^
So You Wanna Be A Neko Too?
No problem! This blog’s got all your answers. We’ve got a whole page that explains exactly How to Be A Neko, along with links to all sorts of handy “how to” guides and resource pages to point you in the right direction to find your very own Neko Ears and Tails, Neko Skins, Neko AO and Animations, Whiskers, Paw Boots, and more.
Left: Back to School “backpack;” Top: Yummy Sardines; Bottom: Ridin Nerdy; Right: Tintable Legwarmers, and cute Neko shoes
Appropriate Attire For Studying Neko History
Ahh yes. You’ve sat through class like such good little Nekos, waiting for me to divulge my shopping secrets. Let me start by saying this: I heart CatNip! Akasha Wachmann makes some of the best, outrageously funny Neko accessories on the grid (in my not-so-humble opinion of course).
But the girl’s talent is further complemented by a sweet heart: after receiving a crazy idea from a <cough> strange Neko girl one night, she took up the challenge, and designed this adorable school backpack just for this post. Of course I also needed to pack a school lunch (her “yummy sardines” arm band) and bring appropriate gadgets (her “ridin nerdy” leg band) for school.
Thank you Akasha, I hope I’m not the only Neko who takes a shine to your new school backpack!
| Hair | Shop Seu: Fuafua hair in apricot brown
| Outfit | SG / Sweetest Goodbye: School Girl outfit in indigo + red
| Backback | CatNip: Back to School
| Arm band | CatNip: Yummy Sardines
| Thigh strap | CatNip: Ridin Nerdy
| Legwarmers | Gritty Kitty: (tintable) Legwarmer hand tinted to match outfit
| Socks | PBI / Pushbutton Industries: Yardstick Thigh Highs in snow
| Shoes | Ameno (Elle et Lui): Brooklyn styles bordeau women
And don’t forget to check out Fa Nyak’s store >(O.o)< while you’re at it. In addition to some cute gifts Fa dropped on me, I’ve got the “pounce”-animated bracelet, and Bobby wears the ears, which feature some of the best and more unique natural movements I’ve seen.
© Stacia Villota / Virtual Neko in Second Life – 2008
http://virtualneko.com
=^..^=
[...] More than just your ticket to a cool Neko schoolgirl outfit, this manga-inspired photo is your doorway to a fascinating history of how Nekos came to be. You know you’re curious, kitty. Come get all the details on my Virtual Neko blog… [...]
Virtual Neko: The History of Neko « iheartsl.com said this on September 14, 2008 at 1:20 pm |
The Cat Returns was possibly one of my favorite anime movies. This is a wonderful post in general, love it! *Shopping time..*
I have to agree. I prefer Catgirl over Neko, Neko seemed to come later. Also there needs to be a shout out to Anisa Naumova (and SL’s first quality set of animated catbits)! And a shout for Artemis Fate (for… I dunno, Nexus City, at least, and for being probably the first catgirl I ever saw :3 )
There was another Japanese anime featuring a Neko boy – “Loveless” In this series the Neko features are a sign of innocence and are lost upon losing virginity. Not that myself or any of the other Neko boys I’ve met in SL could ever be mistaken for virgins… there is a tendency towards a young-ish appearance though, often.
Thanks for the history lesson *purrs and nuzzles your shoulder* and the great store leads! I just found out Katt Krap, one of my favorite stores has moved without giving any notice!
Nice post. I love CatNip! One of my favorite things is the Mt. Dew IV. I requested a diet version, but Akasha never responded. Maybe she’d do it for you?
(Miss you on Plurk, BTW)
Stacia — thanks for sharing how you see the story. Catgirls and catboys/neko have become such a popular Second Life subculture. I’ve also liked seeing doggirls on the rise, which seems to be more unique to SL.
Those accessories are schweet, thx for providing SLURLs! I <3 the NES controller. (Hey, I grew up jamming on one like mad.)
Haha- I remember I had the *hardest* time trying to get a set of neko ears in SL when I first joined. I already knew neko since I’m an anime fan and have drawn Ellie (also a comic book character in my stories) as one since I was 13. So naturally I had to obtain some hybrid attire and I remember how challenging it was just to get an LM for a place. I couldn’t believe how much neko shops picked up since then (me being one of them) but it’s become a whole new lifestyle on SL and I’m glad it’s been so successful.
Thanks for the awesome history and yah, Catwoman was my idle. LOL.
<3
Torley, I’m so honored to see that you stopped by my blog, thank you! If you’ve got additional / alternate perspectives to share on the Neko (hi)story, please do! ^_^
[...] The inspiration for today’s story and photo comes from the anime movie “Princess Mononoke,” produced by Studio Ghibli (the same group who produced the anime about a little girl who transformed into a Neko in “The Cat Returns“). [...]
[...] of your kind to observe the behavior. Visit a Neko club. Join a Neko group. Brush up on your Neko history. Type “Neko” into the “Events” tab of your Second Life search [...]
OMG, I love the Nintendo remote in the title picture. Is that available anywhere? The image looks like it -could- be an SL screenshot, or some other 3D art.
Ps: Alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo (or something like that) had a neko/erotica serial-story up around 89 or 90 / 91 or so. One of the ‘Chromebooks’ to the Cyberpunk RPG that came out in the late 80s also had a cyber-neko altered body kit. Both of these concepts where themselves inspired by earlier works in the Cyberpunk genre, and in anime. And of course, we can trace some inspiration for a lot of this to Catwoman and Tigra of DC and Marvel comics.
Hi Arcady! If you mean the item on my right thigh, yup, that’s available in-world… see the links under the “Appropriate Attire” section above… it’s CatniP’s “Ridin Nerdy” thigh strap.
Fascinating bit about the serial story…! So it seems the further we explore, the deeper our little Neko roots go, eh? Thanks so much for sharing that!!!
Yup, Catwoman is mentioned above… those were the only old Batman episodes I ever wanted to watch… heh.
How did I miss your nod to catwoman?
/forheadsmack. ;p
Deep roots? try this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet_(mythology)
- A little more furry than us, but they almost had it right.
hehe… yeah, I thought about taking this back to Bastet… there certainly are cat goddesses and tribal lore in just about every culture… but didn’t wanna be accused of taking any and all possible cat associations and claiming them as our own!
[...] In the early 1990s, all sorts of manga (comic books) and anime (animated movies) began featuring little girls sprouting ears and a tail, inspiring cosplayers all across Japan (and eventually the rest of the world) to begin [...]
[...] legion of fans. If this is all very weird and mysterious to you, then go to her wonderful page on The History of Neko. (Of course, for the point-counterpoint view, you need go no further than Shauna’s Pet Peeve [...]
Featured Blog: Virtual Neko : slFIX said this on June 29, 2009 at 11:01 pm |
so sad. Is the | Outfit | SG / Sweetest Goodbye: School Girl outfit in indigo + red no longer available??? Or did it just move???
No sadness allowed… I’ve updated the slurl for SG / Sweetest Goodbye to its new location. SL stores move ALL the time… and most forget to tell me, so I appreciate you letting me know! ^_^
The catgirl meme certainly goes back further in Japanese animation, and catpeople in Japanese art generally. As an example, the original Dominion: Tank Police had the characters Anipuma and Unipuma, around the mid-Eighties. Which is about the same time as the Cats musical appeared. Affordable domestic video recorders may be significant too.
My guess is that SL enabled quite a few things to come together, which had been down in the background noise of the Internet. You can do some of the same stuff in text-only environments, but SL allows user creativity in pictures as well as words.
Oh most definitely Dave… so far, as best my readers can tell, it looks like the earliest anime depicting the “transformation of human into cat” (though it was a complete transformation, versus the more recent depiction of Neko as human + cat) was in the late 1960s.
I would love it if we could track down more references (and maybe even some youtubes) of those first catgirl animes… that could make for an entire blog story in and of itself!
Thanks so much for stopping by, hope we’ll see more of you!