Neko Taro: the boy who drew cats. A Japanese Folktale illustrated and retold by Regina Doi. Water Color and Ink Illustrations ©2010 Regina Doi.
This Japanese folk tale is retold from “The Boy Who Drew Cats” in Gleanings from Buddha-Fields, by Lafcadio Hearn, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1897.
Neko Taro is a story of a boy's creativity and faith triumphing in the midst of terror.
The story follows the boy and his mentor to a small Japanese village where they find shelter in a haunted temple. The boy not understanding why his master is terrified of the temple, comforts himself with drawing his favorite animal, the cat. He draws cats everywhere in the temple. Once night falls, the boy falls asleep and awakens the next day to a surprise.
