the meeting of old and new

Scholars of classical Japanese take Lolcats to a new level:


* The cats pictured in this scroll are called "neko-mata." They are ancient cats with supernatural abilities and forked tails. Usually their abilities (shapeshifting, reanimating the dead, talking) are used to harm humans.

*"Tsukemono" are pickled vegetables historically made by soaking the veggies in salt or brine in a ceramic container.