Database and Lore

Izanami (NSFW)

The Japanese are known for the variety of mythical creatures big and small. The Yokai is the biggest general term that defines the mythical creatures that exist throughout the island. Lesser to even the most incredible characters can come from this single nation. One of the many examples of the Yokai are characters such as Izanami, but who is she and what roles does she play in Japan? The legends of the Nekomata follows that of a similar story to the Bakeneko. In fact, the Bakeneko and Nekomata are so similar in ideas that it is easy to get them confused. The Nekomata are known to appear in Chinese and Japanese folklore of mythical, mysterious cats that can take up human form and go as far back as the Edo Period of Japan (and beyond) and the Sui Dynasty in China. The Nekomata are generally regarded as dangerous creatures as they can take up human form of beautiful women and try to seduce men to their bedchambers where she would kill and eat the man in turn. Japan is known for its early fear of cats. While this would change much later in the following hundreds of years, cats were generally treated under the guise of superstition. It was feared that if the cat's tail grew too long that it would split into two tails, and the cat would continue to grow in size. Eventually the cat would inherit magical powers and try to use it to harm humans. Unlike the Bakeneko that have similar stories to the Nekomata, the Nekomata are considered to be violent, manipulative, dangerous, having the powers to control death, and having dark magical powers. This would lead to a practice in Japan where in order to prevent a cat from turning into a Nekomata, the tail had to be cut down in size. This would lead to a practice known as"bobbing" where you see cats having almost no tails to them. However, there is some relation to the stories of the Nekomata and Japan when it came to matters of the geisha. The word geisha was actually related to cats or Neko. The first surviving known depictions of the Nekomata were actually anthro cat-like creatures that wore geisha like clothing and played musical instruments. Even in prostitution or the adult industry cat ears are considered a sexual theme in Japan as bunny ears are in North America. Ironically, cats have made an exciting comeback in Japan. Today, cats are looked at as more of creatures of fortune than they were originally depicted. The Maneki-Neko, for example are known as cats that bring great luck to an individual. Statues, figures, and talismans are always shown with their waving paws to the people around them. In Tales of Heroes, there are a variety of surviving various Bakeneko, Nekomata, and even Senri like cats. There is one well known surviving Nekomata after Cataclysm would wipe out most of the mythics on Earth. Calling herself Izanami, the Nekomata would engage in acts of prostitution or taking up the human form of a beautiful woman to lure men to their deaths. She didn't get far, however, as she only managed to kill a couple of human men before she was captured and apprehended by the Coalition of Deities. She was given the offer to serve the Coalition and become a part of the unity of mythics in exchange that she never used her powers to harm human mortals. If she continued to hurt humans then she would be imprisoned or face execution for her actions. The Coalition of Deities is all about using good or evil to work together for a common goal. Izanami would instead use her powers as an infiltrator and information gatherer for the Coalition. Often she would pose as the beautiful woman to seduce the man to her chambers, then she would reveal her true form and use her magic to seduce the men to have sex with her. The men would offer any valuable information including the locations of any mysterious artifacts, mythical weapons, or items that shouldn't be in the hands of mortal men. After the man has a night of fun with her, she would then revert to her human form and alter the man's memories of what he remembered the night before. For the mortals that had sex with her, they remember a night of fun they had with the mysterious woman but nothing more. Of course, it was always the responsibility of the men to treat her with respect in the bedchambers. Failure to do so and you might incur the wrath of Izanami. Izanami is not a master at dark magic like most other dark affiliated spell casters, but she does have some tricks of the trade here and there. She can animate a corpse, charm and seduce men, make them forget of certain events, and even have some curse spells available for the unlucky individual. Seen here is one of the many examples of a man that is seduced to be brought either to her chambers or deep into the forest. The man perhaps has some valuable information available to provide for her. He is a gentleman. Maybe he will leave with a smile on his face after they are done.......