A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Mitford frames “The Story of the Faithful Cat” as an account related during a visit to an Osaka household. The speaker has received cakes commemorating the hundredth anniversary of a cat’s death and repeats the family explanation. A household tom-cat constantly follows a girl of about sixteen. Her father mistakenly concludes that it has fallen in love with her and means to bewitch her, so he plans to kill it. The cat overhears and speaks to him in a dream, explaining that an old rat in the granary is the actual threat and that it stays beside the girl to prevent her abduction.
The cat says it cannot defeat the rat alone and identifies another cat, Buchi, at a house in Ajikawa. The father finds that household and borrows Buchi. Confined with the rat in the granary, the two cats fight until the family discovers all three animals locked together and exhausted. The people kill the rat, which is as large as either cat. Despite treatment, both cats also die and receive honourable burial at a nearby temple. The tale ends with their sacrifice, not a miraculous recovery.
The dream speech supplies the supernatural disclosure; the cat never appears as a human woman or attacks its young mistress. Buchi is a separate named helper, not the faithful cat’s alternate name, and the text does not give Buchi dialogue or a transformation. The commemorative-cake frame connects the rescue with family remembrance while leaving the original family and speaker unnamed. Its relative dating belongs to the retelling and is not converted into an exact historical year.
Origins & earliest records
Japanese family tradition as mediated by Mitford; individually named teller not supplied.
Records & interpretation
Complete named account, ending, relevant footnotes and collection preface read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tales of Old Japan
The Story of the Faithful Cat, pp.207–208 and note76; complete introductory framing also read; complete account and relevant notes read.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Tales of Old Japan
Hosted1910 title;1871 preface and initial publication. The Story of the Faithful Cat, pp.207–208 and note76; complete introductory framing also read
Complete master and named caches mitford-vampire-cat.txt / mitford-faithful-cat.txt; note74 confirms two tails;75 identifies family;76 historical ginseng claim not medical guidance. No unnamed Japanese original invented.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English translation and retellingMitford, Tales of Old Japan, complete named witnessResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.