Nagai Motofusa

• Died: 1625

Nagai Motofusa was a retainer of Môri Terumoto.

Upon Terumoto's death in 1625, Motofusa killed himself, in order to join his lord in death. According to a local Hagi legend, Motofusa's cat then sat on Motofusa's grave for 49 days, refusing to leave, supposedly out of loyalty, until he finally killed himself as well (reportedly by biting his own tongue and either bleeding to death or choking on the blood); according to the story, all the cats of Hagi then wailed until the abbot of the temple performed memorial rites for the cat. Though the temple, Tenju-in, is no longer extant, Motofusa's grave can still be found today, on the former site of Terumoto's residence in Hagi, alongside the graves of Terumoto and his wife.

References

• Louise Hung, "Paying my respects to the most loyal cat in Japan," The Order of the Good Death, 27 June 2017.