Cemetery Cat – Numazu City
In the seaside city of Numazu (沼津市) on the eastern end of Shizuoka prefecture a hot day a couple of summers ago I saw this handsome but scruffy looking cat loitering about in a cemetery. I think he wasn’t too happy about being my model but I did my best to get his best angle! Going grave spotting in Japan is really hard work as the name on the gravestone is completely different from the name the person had when they were alive. If the grave isn’t especially marked out it will be very hard to find the grave you are looking for. Just in case you ever felt like trying to find Japanese celebrities last resting places!
Tokyobling's Blog 
My mother used to tell me that in Japanese culture, a white cat was associated with the occult and bad luck in the way black cats are regarded in European and North American cultures. I don’t know for certain if this is true, but I find it rather coincidental that you saw a white cat in a cemetery! Maybe it was the spirit of some departed celebrity scowling back at you. 😀
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Haha… must have done something bad to be reincarnated back into a cat! (^-^;) These days Japanese are just as cat crazy as everyone else…
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I’d want to be reincarnated to a North American cat…they are so spoiled, what a life! I ❤ cats but this one looks a bit scary. Like a zombie cat. Or a vampire cat. Or just a grumpy old cat. 🙂
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This one probably has a hard life… (^-^;) Japanese house cats are extremely spoilt!
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The best! Great white cat! I love the grave! There is a heaven of cat. Because I can share the offerings!
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Thanks for the comment! (^-^)/
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“Hey, I find a nice, cool play to doze and some human starts stalking me!” *grumble*
Never disturb sleeping cats or babies!
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Haha… I agree! (^-^)
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Legend has it that Muhammed cut the sleeve off his robe rather than disturb a sleeping cat…
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Very nice images … nice cat, however appears protective !
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Thank you! I assume he is camera shy… (^-^;)
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It seems like he is not a simple cat..god/ghost/reincarnation? Who knows, the eyes tell everything 🙂 ..
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I never try to understand cats! I think we are both happy for the mystery… (^-^)
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Why are names on graves different from their names in life? I can’t imagine…can you help?
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It is a Japanese buddhist tradition to give posthumous names to people after they die, one of the reasons being that a new name will stop the person from returning after death, which is a good thing if you believe in reincarnation. People use the normal name for everyday uses, but the posthumous dharma name is used on graves…! It’s a complicated thing to describe in a little blog post… (^-^;)
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That’s prob about as much detail as I needed, thank you! Is there any way of identifying the grave of someone you knew in this world? Does the family choose the name? I’m fascinated.
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I have no idea! I have tried that many times but never managed to find the grave I was looking for. I assume you could ask at the temple that manages the grave but I am not sure. (^-^;) The family pays for the name, which is decided by the priest: the nicer the name you want the more you have to pay! (^-^;)
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