The Boy Who Drew Cats by Lafcadio Hearn
"The Boy Who Drew Cats" is a Japanese folktale retold by Lafcadio Hearn that explores themes of individuality, creativity, and the intersection of art and fate. The story centers around a young boy, the youngest son of impoverished farmers, who is sent to train as a priest. Despite his diligence in learning, he is drawn to drawing cats, a passion that leads him to ignore warnings from his master. After being advised to pursue art instead of the priesthood, he ventures to a new temple, unaware that it is haunted by a deadly goblin.
During the night, while he draws cats on the temple's screens, a confrontation occurs between the goblin and the manifestations of his art. The boy's drawings inadvertently come to life, leading to the destruction of the goblin. In the end, he realizes that his unique talent not only saved him but also solidified his destiny as a renowned artist, celebrated for his depictions of cats. This tale highlights the importance of following one's passion and the unexpected ways in which it can lead to one's true calling.
The Boy Who Drew Cats by Lafcadio Hearn
First published: 1898
Type of plot: Fable
Time of work: The seventh to eighteenth centuries
Locale: Rural Japan
Principal Characters:
The boy , a young temple acolyteThe old priest , his teacher and master
The Story
The protagonist, the youngest son of poor, hardworking farmers, lives in a country village of old Japan. Because he is small, weak, and bright, his parents send him to the village priest to be trained for the priesthood. The boy learns well and pleases his master in almost all ways, but he persists in one act of disobedience—drawing cats whenever he can. Although warned to stop, he continues, as if possessed by a spirit, to draw cats in every color, pose, and mood.
The boy's disobedience causes the old priest to send him away with the advice to stop trying to become a priest but instead become an artist. The priest cautions the boy to avoid large places at night and keep to the small. Puzzled by the strange warning, the boy reluctantly leaves his temple home and walks to the next village, where there is a large temple at which he hopes to continue his religious training.
He arrives at the temple at night, only to find it deserted and covered with thick layers of dust and cobwebs. He does not know the temple has been abandoned because a bloodthirsty goblin now lives there. Earlier, soldiers entered the temple at night to kill the goblin but did not survive the attempt. The unsuspecting boy sits quietly and waits for temple priests to appear. He notices large, white screens, wonderful surfaces for drawing cats, and soon has drawing ink and brushes ready. He unhesitatingly draws cats, not stopping until he is too tired to continue. Sleepily he remembers the old priest's warning as he lies down, so he crawls into a small cabinet and pulls the door closed before he sleeps.
Hours later, the boy wakes to sounds of horrible screaming and fighting. He cowers silently while the fight rages, and only ventures out after daylight streams into the room. He finds a floor wet with blood and, lying dead, a monster goblin-rat the size of a cow. Scanning the temple, he notices the wet, blood-red mouths of the cats he has drawn on the screens. Suddenly he understands the priest's advice, and realizes that his cats have destroyed the goblin in the vicious fight he has overheard. The boy later becomes a famous artist, whose pictures of cats can still be seen in Japan.