[Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture] “Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival” is a big cat festival for cats by cat lovers, and “cat legends” passed down in the area

Do you all know? The Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival is held every year in Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai City.

Sorry, honestly I didn't know.

It really happened that I was researching the history, traditions, and legends of Sendai, and I found that there are several legends in Sendai, mainly in areas where there are legends related to cats.I read about the stories, and as I was researching, I found out that there are several legends related to cats in Sendai City. I just found out that a festival is being held at the Nekozuka Tumulus at the shrine

I also live with two

"I don't know about such festivals. As expected of cats, they're good at hiding."

I just thought that was so rude.

It's just that I don't have enough research.

I was curious about this, so I looked into the ``Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival'' and ``legends related to cats.''

Why Nekozuka? A burial mound? Cat festival?

Let's take a closer look at Miyagi, from Sendai's stories about cats to the modern cat festival!

What is the Nekozuka Tumulus at Shorin Shrine?

The Nekozuka Tumulus is located at Shorin Shrine in Minamikoizumi 1-chome, the guardian of Minamikoizumi, and is still carefully protected by the locals.

It is said that this shrine originally had a keyhole-shaped tumulus with a diameter of 7 to 8 meters, but it was destroyed early on, and no relics remain and the internal structure is unknown, and the details are unknown. The current Shorin Shrine was built on the site, and a cat mound was also built there, hence the name ``Nekozuka Tumulus.''

This cat mound was built based on a legend related to cats that has been passed down in this area.

The legend of the cat that saved its master's life

It is said that in this land there was a princess and a cat that she loved very much.

But one day, a cat clings to the princess and won't let go.

The sweet cat even tried to jump on the princess.

When the lord saw this, he got angry and beheaded the cat.

However, the cat's head was bitten into the throat of a large snake on the ceiling.

that's right.

The cat was trying to protect the princess from the serpent.

When the lord realized that he had accidentally killed a cat, he built a mound on this site to bury the cat with care, and began to pay homage to the cat.

The legend of Nekozuka handed down in Saishoin

The legend of the cat in Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai City is actually not just the story above (the legend of Shorin Shrine and Nekozuka Tumulus).

There is also a cat mound at Saishoin in Wakabayashi Ward, which is the same as Shorin Shrine , and there is a legend related to cats that is different from that of Shorin Shrine.

This story is a different legend than the one above.

is a memorial temple built by Masamune in 1603 as a memorial service for Princess Kubo, the grandmother of Date Masamune, a well-known Tohoku hero .

The legend of the owner and his cat handed down in Saishoin

According to legend, a certain family owned a cat that once killed the neighbor's chicken.

The neighbor's owner was furious and shot the cat to death with a gun.

However, because the owner of the house next door was a superior to the cat's owner, he was unable to protest, and it is said that he tearfully built a cat mound and held a memorial service.

After that, strange things happened one after another in the neighboring house, and it is said that the whole family died.

the two above , I get the impression that stories related to cats still remain deep-rooted in Sendai.

What they have in common is the relationship between the master and the cat, and the fact that the mound where the beloved cat was carefully buried is still there.

Let's get down to business!

Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival!

According to my research, the cat festival is held at /

sponsored by the Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival Executive Committee , and it seems that over 1,200 cat lovers gather from all over the country every year

"Hmm? 1200 people!?"

That's what you all thought too.

Don't underestimate the Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival, which is an unusually exciting event every year.

The festival is full of cat-related events, including a stamp rally, cat goods sales, cat make-up experiences, delicious food stalls, and foster parent searches.

It seems that an eve festival will be held the day before the main festival.

As of now, there is no information on this year's (2022 ) Nekozuka it seems to have been held on June 22nd and 23rd

I will wait for information while hoping that it will be held again this year.

Lastly, please take a look at the Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival held in 2014.

INFORMATION

• Name: Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival
• Venue: Shorin Shrine/Nekozuka Tumulus
• Management: Nekozuka Tumulus Cat Festival Executive Committee
• Address: 1-1-28 Minamikoizumi, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
• Past dates: Usually held from October to mid-November In 2019, held on June 22nd and 23rd, the 1st day is treated as an eve festival

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