"Kodera no Neko" was an important and spectacular scene in the drama "Tôkai Kidan Nekomata Yashiki", which was premiered in the 9th lunar month of 1871 at the Nakamuraza to commemorate the 22nd anniversary (23rd memorial service) of the passing away of the Edo star Onoe Kikugorô III.

"Kodera no Neko" was based on the supernatural phenomenon of the Okazaki Cat (the spirit of a giant cat in Okazaki)" in "Hitori Tabi Gojûsan Tsugi" ('Fifty-Three Stations on a Solo Journey'), written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV in 1827 and premiered by Onoe Kikugorô III, which became a great success. Later, Onoe Kikugorô V (Ichimura Uzaemon XIII) continued this tradition of the "Cat of the Old Temple" in works such as "Tôkaidô Iroha Nikki" (1861), written by Kawatake Shinshichi II. It was added in 1902 by Onoe Kikugorô V in the Shinko Engeki Jûsshu collection of signature works associated with the Otowaya guild. High potential for a revival in the future to come? ^[1]

[1] Onoe Kikugorô VIII, who took this prestigious name in 2025, has expressed in interviews his desire to decipher the materials for the lost plays from the Shinko Engeki Jûsshu collection, to revive and recreate them.

Illustration for the "Kodera no Neko" scene with Onoe Kikugorô V from a ehon banzuke for the staging of the drama "Tôkai Kidan Nekomata Yashiki" in the 9th lunar month of 1871 at the Nakamuraza