O Toyo/Nabeshima/The Vampire Cat

O Toyo is a figure from a Japanese folktale. This story has inspired many stories, songs, and poems. She was a favored courtesan to a prince named Hizen, of the Nabéshima Family. The prince was spending time with her but didn’t notice they were being followed by a massive cat. The cat form resembles a typical cat with two tails or a form like a leopard. These creatures drain blood from victims, and vitality through sex. O Toyo returned to her room and later woke up to see the cat crouched in the corner. Before she could panic, the cat jumped on and strangled her and replaced her to seduce the prince. It took the face, body, and memories of the original O Toyo and buried her corpse. He continued to love the imposter until he noticed his health was going downhill and his bodyguards took notice. He was having terrible dreams and one hundred retainers began watching over him as he slept. They watched him but at ten o’clock they all became mystically drowsy, and this repeated night after night. A priest was called to pray over the prince, but while doing so noticed a young man praying in the garden. This man was Ito Soda and he impressed the priest. The next day he joined the hundred retainers in watching over the prince. When the time came that all the retainers fell asleep, he covered the floor in oil paper, stabbed his thigh with a dirk, and twisted it whenever he grew drowsy. The false O Toyo crept in but was forced to leave when Ito Soda saw her claiming to check on the prince. He continued helping the prince and determined O Toyo was the cause of his illness. He went to her room one night, with eight retainers as backup waiting outside, and told O-Toyo he had a letter from the prince. When he went to kill her with his dirk, she grabbed a halberd and lashed out, but eventually decided to run after turning into her cat form. The other retainers attempted to shoot her but ultimately missed. She escaped to the mountains but was eventually killed during a hunting mission ordered by the prince and Ito Soda was honored for his success.

Citations:

Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2017.

Davis, Frederick Hadland. Myths & Legends of Japan. United Kingdom, G. G. Harrap Limited, 1928.

Japanese Mythology: Illustrated Edition. N.p., e-artnow, 2020.

Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2006.