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A catgirl (猫娘, nekomusume), sometimes called a neko girl or simply neko, is a young female character with feline traits, such as cat ears (猫耳, nekomimi), a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. They are not individuals who are literal cats but individuals who only look superficially feline.^[1] Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, particularly in Japanese anime and manga.^[2] Catboy is a term for the male equivalent of said character type.

History

The oldest mention of the term nekomusume comes from an 18th-century misemono (見世物) in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed.^[3] Stories of shape-shifting bakeneko prostitutes were popular during the Edo period.^[3] The popularity of the nekomusume continued throughout the Edo and Shōwa periods, with many tales of cat/woman hybrids appearing in works such as the Ehon Sayoshigure (絵本小夜時雨) and Ansei zakki (安政雑記).^[3]

In Kenji Miyazawa's 1924 work, Suisenzuki no Yokka (水仙月の四日, literally The 4th of Narcissus Month) is the first modern day example of a beautiful, cat-eared woman.^[4] In 1936, the nekomusume experienced a revival in kamishibai.^[3] The first anime involving catgirls, titled The King’s Tail (Ousama no Shippo), was made in 1949 by Mitsuyo Seo.^{[citation needed]} In America, the DC Comics character Catwoman first appeared in 1940, and Cheetah first appeared in 1943.^[5]

Catgirls were further made popular in 1978 manga series The Star of Cottonland, by Yumiko Ōshima.^[6] By the 1990s, catgirls were common in Japanese anime and manga.^[7] Catgirls have since been featured in various media worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as Nekocon.^[8]

Catgirls are also popular among the furry fandom. In 2023, the furry hacker group SiegedSec attempted to blackmail the Idaho National Laboratory into "creating real-life catgirls".^[9]

Reception

Japanese philosopher Hiroki Azuma has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of moe-elements.^[7]^[10] In a 2010 critique of the manga series Loveless, the feminist writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the Playboy Bunny in western culture, serving as a fetishization of youthful innocence.^[11]

References

^ "Cat Girl". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
^ Okum, David (2004-03-24). "Cat Girl". Manga Madness. F+W Media. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-58180-534-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Davisson, Zack (2017). Kaibyō : the supernatural cats of Japan (First ed.). Seattle, WA: Chin Music Press. ISBN 978-1-63405-916-9. OCLC 1006517249.
^ "Suisenzuki no yokka". www.aozora.gr.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
^ Wallace, Daniel (2010). "1940s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman.
^ Berndt, Jaqueline (1995). Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan (in German). Berlin: Edition q. p. 111. ISBN 978-3-86124-289-5.
^ ^a ^b Azuma, Hiroki (2009). Otaku: Japan's database animals. Translated by Abel, Jonathan; Kono, Shion (English ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 47, 89. ISBN 978-0-8166-6800-7. OCLC 527737445.
^ "After Action Report". The Virginian-Pilot. 2007-11-07. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
^ Yeo, Amanda (2023-11-24). "'Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls". Mashable. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
^ Galbraith, Patrick W. (31 October 2009). "Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan". Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. 9 (3). Archived from the original on 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
^ Noonan, T. A. (Fall 2010). ""I Can't Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga's Loveless" (PDF). MP: An Online Feminist Journal. 3 (2). ISSN 1939-330X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2013.

External links

Media related to Catgirls at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of catgirl at Wiktionary

[1] "Cat Girl". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2024-04-25.

[2] Okum, David (2004-03-24). "Cat Girl". Manga Madness. F+W Media. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-58180-534-5.

[Davisson_Kaibyo-3] Davisson, Zack (2017). Kaibyō : the supernatural cats of Japan (First ed.). Seattle, WA: Chin Music Press. ISBN 978-1-63405-916-9. OCLC 1006517249.

[4] "Suisenzuki no yokka". www.aozora.gr.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.

[5] Wallace, Daniel (2010). "1940s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman.

[berndt-6] Berndt, Jaqueline (1995). Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan (in German). Berlin: Edition q. p. 111. ISBN 978-3-86124-289-5.

[Hiroki-7] Azuma, Hiroki (2009). Otaku: Japan's database animals. Translated by Abel, Jonathan; Kono, Shion (English ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 47, 89. ISBN 978-0-8166-6800-7. OCLC 527737445.

[8] "After Action Report". The Virginian-Pilot. 2007-11-07. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2013-02-03.

[9] Yeo, Amanda (2023-11-24). "'Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls". Mashable. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[10] Galbraith, Patrick W. (31 October 2009). "Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan". Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. 9 (3). Archived from the original on 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2018-05-23.

[11] Noonan, T. A. (Fall 2010). ""I Can't Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga's Loveless" (PDF). MP: An Online Feminist Journal. 3 (2). ISSN 1939-330X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2013.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{short description|Female character with cat traits on a human body}}
+{{Short description|Human female character with feline traits}}
-{{About|the anime trope||Catgirl (disambiguation)}}
+{{About|the anime/manga trope|the film|Cat Girl|the character|Carrie Kelley|other uses|Catgirl (disambiguation)}}
-{{Redirect|Neko mimi|the motorized cat shaped ears|Neurowear}}
+{{Redirect|Catboy|the musician|Boyd Terry}}
+{{distinguish|Cat lady|Catwoman}}
-[[File:Neko Wikipe-tan.svg|thumb|Catgirl [[wikipedia:Wikipe-tan|Wikipe-tan]]|right]]
+[[File:Neko Wikipe-tan.svg|thumb|Wikipe-tan (a [[personification]] of [[Wikipedia]]), drawn as a catgirl]]
-A {{Nihongo|'''catgirl'''|猫娘|'''''nekomusume'''''}} is a female [[kemonomimi]] character with cat traits, such as cat ears {{Nihongo|'''catgirl'''|猫娘|'''''nekomimi'''''}}, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres and in particular Japanese [[anime]] and [[manga]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDfQpNfdlMQC|page=72|date=2004-03-24|title=Manga Madness|isbn=978-1-58180-534-5|author=David Okum|chapter=Cat Girl}}</ref>
+A {{Nihongo|'''catgirl'''|猫娘|nekomusume}}, sometimes called a '''neko girl''' or simply '''neko''', is a young female character with feline traits, such as {{Nihongo|cat ears|猫耳|nekomimi}}, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. They are not individuals who are literal cats but individuals who only look superficially feline.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cat Girl |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CatGirl |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=TV Tropes}}</ref> Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, particularly in Japanese [[anime]] and [[manga]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDfQpNfdlMQC|page=72|date=2004-03-24|title=Manga Madness|isbn=978-1-58180-534-5|last=Okum|first=David|chapter=Cat Girl|publisher=F+W Media }}</ref> '''Catboy''' is a term for the male equivalent of said character type.
 ==History==
+The oldest mention of the term ''nekomusume'' comes from an 18th-century ''[[misemono]]'' (見世物) in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed.<ref name="Davisson Kaibyo" /> Stories of shape-shifting ''[[bakeneko]]'' [[Prostitution|prostitutes]] were popular during the [[Edo period]].<ref name="Davisson Kaibyo">{{Cite book|last=Davisson |first=Zack |author-link=Zack Davisson |title=Kaibyō : the supernatural cats of Japan|year=2017 |isbn=978-1-63405-916-9|edition=First |publisher=Chin Music Press|location=Seattle, WA|oclc=1006517249}}</ref> The popularity of the ''nekomusume'' continued throughout the Edo and [[Shōwa (1926–1989)|Shōwa]] periods, with many tales of cat/woman hybrids appearing in works such as the {{nihongo|''Ehon Sayoshigure''|絵本小夜時雨|}} and {{nihongo|''Ansei zakki''|安政雑記|}}.<ref name="Davisson Kaibyo" />
-The portrayal of catgirls goes back until at least 1924 when [[Kenji Miyazawa]] (Japanese author of children's literature in the early [[Shōwa period|Shōwa]] period of Japan) created {{Nihongo2|水仙月の四日}} (The 4th of narcissus month) where the first "Modern Day" Nekomimi Cat girl appears as {{Nihongo2|雪婆んご}} in the story, a beautiful, cat-eared woman.<ref>{{citeweb |url=http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000081/files/1930_9724.html |title=Suisenzuki no yokka |work=www.aozora.gr.jp |accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref> The first [[anime]] titled ''The King’s Tail'' (''Osama no Shippo'') involving catgirls was made in 1949 by [[Mitsuyo Seo]]. In America, [[Catwoman]] and [[Cheetah (comics)|Cheetah]] were created by [[DC Comics]] that date back to 1940.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wallace |first=Daniel |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Hannah |chapter= 1940s |title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 31 |quote = The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one.  With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman.}}</ref>
+In [[Kenji Miyazawa|Kenji Miyazawa's]] 1924 work, {{Nihongo|''Suisenzuki no Yokka''|水仙月の四日||literally ''The 4th of Narcissus Month''}} is the first modern day example of a beautiful, cat-eared woman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000081/files/1930_9724.html |title=Suisenzuki no yokka |work=www.aozora.gr.jp |language=ja |access-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923174506/http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000081/files/1930_9724.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1936, the ''nekomusume'' experienced a revival in ''[[kamishibai]]''.<ref name="Davisson Kaibyo" /> The first [[anime]] involving catgirls, titled ''The King’s Tail'' (''Ousama no Shippo''), was made in 1949 by [[Mitsuyo Seo]].{{cn|date=October 2020}} In America, the [[DC Comics]] character [[Catwoman]] first appeared in 1940, and [[Cheetah (comics)|Cheetah]] first appeared in 1943.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wallace |first=Daniel |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Hannah |chapter= 1940s |title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 31 |quote = The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman.}}</ref>
-In 1978, catgirls were further made popular when the series ''[[The Star of Cottonland]]'' (''Wata no Kuni Hoshi'') started.<ref name="berndt">{{cite book | author=Jaqueline Berndt | title=Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan | language=German | publisher=Edition q | location=Berlin | year=1995 | page=111 | isbn=3-86124-289-3}}</ref> By the 1990s catgirls were common in Japanese [[anime]] and [[manga]].<ref name=Hiroki/> Catgirls have since been featured in [[List of nekomimi wearers|various media]] worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as [[Nekocon]].<ref>{{cite news | work = The Virginian-Pilot | title = After Action Report | date = 2007-10-07 | url = http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report | accessdate = 2013-02-03}}</ref>
+Catgirls were further made popular in 1978 manga series ''[[The Star of Cottonland]]'', by [[Yumiko Ōshima]].<ref name="berndt">{{cite book | last=Berndt | first=Jaqueline | title=Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan | language=de | publisher=Edition q | location=Berlin | year=1995 | page=111 | isbn=978-3-86124-289-5 }}</ref> By the 1990s, catgirls were common in Japanese [[anime]] and [[manga]].<ref name=Hiroki/> Catgirls have since been featured in [[List of nekomimi wearers|various media]] worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as [[Nekocon]].<ref>{{cite news | work = [[The Virginian-Pilot]] | title = After Action Report | date = 2007-11-07 | url = http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report | access-date = 2013-02-03 | archive-date = 2016-09-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160914090838/http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report | url-status = dead }}</ref>
+Catgirls are also popular among the [[furry fandom]]. In 2023, the furry hacker group [[SiegedSec]] attempted to blackmail the [[Idaho National Laboratory]] into "creating real-life catgirls".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Amanda |date=2023-11-24 |title='Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls |url=https://mashable.com/article/catgirl-real-nuclear-hack |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref>
 ==Reception==
+[[File:Cosplay of Azusa Nakano 2024 FF43.jpg|thumb|An [[K-On!#Characters|Azusa Nakano]] [[cosplay|cosplayer]] dressed as a catgirl]]
-Japanese philosopher [[Hiroki Azuma]] has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of [[Moe (slang)|moe]]-elements. Azuma argued that although some [[otaku]] sexual expression involves catgirl imagery, few otaku have the sexual awareness to understand how such imagery can be perceived as perverted.<ref name="Hiroki">{{Cite book| title=Otaku: Japan's database animals| url=https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum| url-access=limited|last=Azuma| first=Hiroki| author-link1 = Hiroki Azuma |translator-last1=Abel |translator-first1=Jonathan |translator-last2=Kono |translator2-first=Shion |isbn=9780816668007|edition=English |oclc=527737445 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum/page/n77 47], 89|year = 2009| publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | journal=Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies |url=http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html|title=Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan| last=Galbraith| first=Patrick W.| volume =9 |issue = 3 |language=en|access-date=2018-05-23}}</ref>
-In a 2010 critique of the manga series ''[[Loveless (manga)|Loveless]]'', the [[feminist]] writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the [[Playboy bunny]] in western culture, serving as a fetishization of youthful innocence.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Noonan|first=T. A.|title="I Can’t Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and  Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga’s Loveless| url= http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf| journal=MP: An Online Feminist Journal|publisher=MP: An Online Feminist Journal|accessdate=10 February 2013|date=Fall 2010 |issue =2 | volume =3 |issn = 1939-330X}}</ref>
+Japanese philosopher [[Hiroki Azuma]] has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of [[Moe (slang)|moe]]-elements.<ref name="Hiroki">{{Cite book| title=Otaku: Japan's database animals| url=https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum| url-access=limited|last=Azuma| first=Hiroki| author-link1 = Hiroki Azuma |translator-last1=Abel |translator-first1=Jonathan |translator-last2=Kono |translator2-first=Shion |isbn=978-0-8166-6800-7|edition=English |oclc=527737445 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum/page/n77 47], 89|year = 2009| publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies|url=http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html|title=Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan|last=Galbraith|first=Patrick W.|date=31 October 2009|volume=9|issue=3|language=en|access-date=2018-05-23|archive-date=2019-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025065102/http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2010 critique of the manga series ''[[Loveless (manga)|Loveless]]'', the [[feminist]] writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the [[Playboy Bunny]] in western culture, serving as a [[Sexual fetishism|fetishization]] of youthful innocence.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Noonan|first=T. A.|title="I Can't Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga's Loveless|url=http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf|journal=MP: An Online Feminist Journal|access-date=10 February 2013|date=Fall 2010|issue=2|volume=3|issn=1939-330X|archive-date=12 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112002434/http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
 ==See also==
-* {{Wiktionary-inline|catgirl}}
-* [[List of catgirls]]
 * [[Animal roleplay]]
-* [[Moe anthropomorphism]]
+* [[Furry fandom]]
+* [[Human–animal hybrid]]
+* [[List of catgirls and catboys]]
+* [[Moe anthropomorphism|''Moe'' anthropomorphism]]
+* ''[[Nekomata]]''
 ==References==
@@ Line 24: / Line 31: @@
 ==External links==
-{{Commons category|Catgirls}}
+* {{Commons category inline|Catgirls}}
+* {{Wiktionary-inline|catgirl}}
 {{Stock characters}}
-{{Furry fandom}}
+[[Category:Catgirls| ]]
+[[Category:18th-century neologisms]]
 [[Category:Anime and manga terminology]]
-[[Category:Anthropomorphic cats]]
+[[Category:Fictional cats]]
-[[Category:Cats in popular culture]]
+[[Category:Fictional human–animal hybrids]]
-[[Category:Female stock characters in anime and manga]]
+[[Category:Fictional hybrid species and races]]
-[[Category:Kemonomimi|*]]
+[[Category:Moe anthropomorphism]]
-[[de:Kemonomimi#Katzen]]