Kaiki Neko Musume

This is a rare work that serves as the origin of Neko Musume, a character from the Kitaro series. The rental manga volume originally published by Midori Shobo in 1958 was completely reprinted in 2008. Published under the pen name Shinichiro Higashi, this work not only brims with the author’s signature fantastical and eerie atmosphere but also creatively reimagines supernatural cat tales—a genre deeply rooted in the tradition of Japanese ghost stories and frequently depicted in kamishibai—with the realistic touch characteristic of Mizuki’s gekiga style. The protagonist of this book, Neko Musume, whose face involuntarily transforms to become cat-like upon smelling the scent of mackerel, is considered the predecessor to the Neko Musume who later appeared in the Kitaro series. (Source: Shogakukan, translated)