And here we arrive at the main meat of this site (aside from the image gallery.) The page of information! From how Tama-Neko arrives to things he's done, this page has it all! Well, not quite, but there's still plenty of stuff here! But please be careful, because this page contains spoilers for the entire series - up to the 2nd OAV/2nd part of the manga.

Here's also some info on Mitsukake and a little page explaining the question, Why a shrine to Tama?.

Quick Background Info...

In manga episode 23 (anime episode 15), Miaka and the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi (at least those gathered so far) find themselves in the village of Choukou. While there, Miaka becomes very ill. Even so, when a fish lands in the street she reaches out to grab it -- only to be stopped by a scruffy-looking man who grabs the fish and runs off. Miaka finds plenty of energy to chase him back to his house, where she finds a cat eating the fish on the porch. And thus, Tama-Neko arrived on the scene of Fushigi Yuugi!

So why is his name "Tama-Neko"? Actually, Miaka names him in manga volume 12, a humorous portion that wasn't animated due to some time restraints. It starts with Mitsukake calling out, "Tama! Tama!" (In the Chinese version of the manga, the cat is actually named Tamahome...) Tamahome raises his hand in response, but Mitsukake says he was looking for his cat. He tells the others that Miaka told him to call the cat "Tama". Tamahome is not happy with this, and demands to know why the cat can't be called Chichiri (well, they look alike and have been mistaken for each other...) but Tasuki scratches his chin in thought. He holds up a fish, saying, "Tama! Tama! Look, fish!" The cat purrs and reaches out to grab it. Then Tasuki holds up a coin and says, "Tama, Tama! Look, money!" Tamahome purrs and reaches out to grab it (looking very feline) while the others sigh. Tamahome snaps out of it and gets really angry, but when Tasuki holds out the coin, he starts purring and reaching for it again, making Mitsukake face-fault.

'Tama' is a common name for cats in Japan just as it's common in the United States to name a dog 'Fido' or a poodle 'Fifi'. There are several other Tama-named cats in other anime series; in the Sailor Moon S movie, the guy who saves Luna (I forgot his name) tried out several cat names on her, and one of them was Tama. It's common for FY fans to refer to him as Tama-Neko so as not to confuse him with Tamahome (who, as you may recall, does not enjoy Nuriko calling him Tama-chan since he really doesn't look like a cat.)

According to Giles Poitras' book, The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation? many cats in Japan are white with black or brown patches of fur, and Tama-Neko is no exception. His fur is mostly white except for a big patch on his forehead and the end of his tail. However, his first appearance in Manga 4 certainly looks a lot different from his appearances in later Manga when his character design was perfected. The cat in Rurouni Kenshin (who also does the eating fish thing and gets Sanosuke and Yahiko fuming) is white, with brown and black patches.

His voice is done by the same seiyuu who does Yui Hongo's voice (Touma Yumi.) This sort of double-duty is often done to cut costs, and is not an uncommon practice. In fact, this double-duty is done several times in the Fushigi Yuugi anime; Tetsuya's seiyuu also does Suzakuseikun's voice, and Chichiri's seiyuu (Seki Tomokazu) voices Kouji! (Didn't you think they sounded familiar?)

Tama-Neko's Accomplishments

So Tama-Neko arrives in volume 4. In a way, he was instramental in bringing Mitsukake to the attention of Miaka; if Mitsukake hadn't grabbed the fish to take back, would the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi have found him so easily? Mitsukake was a hermit who lived on the outskirts of town and had little to do with the villagers. Without Tama-Neko as a sort of intermediary, it might have taken much longer for the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi group to be complete.

Tama-Neko's role doesn't get too big until near the end of volume 5 (anime episode 19, manga episode 30), when Miaka, Tasuki, and Chichiri venture into Kutou in order to retrieve Tamahome. There they find Tamahome has been brainwashed (using Kodoku) by Nakago and are trapped by the Seiryuu no Shichi Seishi. Tasuki and Tamahome battle it out while Chichiri desperately attempts to escape, but with Nakago's shield, the monk's powers are useless - until he hits upon the idea of using Tama-Neko. "The cat can percieve higher wavelengths than humans" Chichiri says, and focuses his power on Tama-Neko, breaking through Nakago's barrier. Chichiri sends Tama-Neko back to the palace in Konan (much to the startlement of the others) and asks for their help. Chiriko sends his and the other Shichi Seishi's ki through his flute, allowing Chichiri to break through the barrier and return with Miaka and Tasuki.

His role once again quiets down (he appears to get action in fits an spurts, but he's just the cat) until volume 9 (anime episodes 35ish/ manga episodes 50ish). After Ashitare steals the Genbu no Shinzahou, Miaka is determined to get it back at all costs. Taiitsukun tells her the only way is by seducing Nakago and lowering his ki. Miaka is not gung-ho about this for obvious reasons, but after talking out her worries to Tama-Neko (who happened to be hiding in her cloak, probably to stay warm in the cold Hokkan climate), she feels confident enough to continue. Of course, Tama-Neko falls asleep while listening, but he still lends moral support. Any pet-owner will concur that it's often easier to talk their troubles out to their cat or dog than to fellow humans.

Naturally, Tamahome is worried when Miaka is missing, and suddenly finds Tama-Neko with him. After an elaborate series of pantomimes where Tama-Neko explains what's happening, Tamahome is no more enlightened and a lot more frustrated, and the cat resorts to merely leading the Shichi Seishi to the Seiryuu camp.

After Miaka's failed attempt to regain the Genbu no Shinzahou, she, Tamahome, and Tama-Neko head towards Sailo, where the other Suzaku no Shichi Seishi have gone to find the Byakko no Shinzahou. Along the way they get separated, and even Tama-Neko's dressing up as Miaka doesn't soothe Tamahome's worries (although it provides comic relief.) Later, when Soi (illusioned by Tomo to look like Miaka) tries to seduce Tamahome, Tama-Neko is able to see through the disguise (by perceiving high wavelengths? Because he's more observant? Who knows?) He warns Tamahome by dressing up as Soi and Miaka, and pointing out the difference, but earning only a large bump on the noggin for his troubles.

Tama-Neko gets little more showtime afterwards. Much, much later, in the last volume of Fushigi Yuugi (#13), Tama-Neko goes with Tasuki and Chichiri to Miaka's world in order to battle Nakago there. His prescence leads to the joke about being three heads tall (in drawing manga, SD (super-deformed) characters are usually 3 heads tall - as opposed to 6-7 for a regular adult.)

And that's about it! He has minor appearances in the first and second OAV series and in the second part of the manga, but they are small and minor details.