Neko Chigura or Neko Tsugura is a kind of cat house made of straw in Japan.
It is a folk craft of Sekikawa, Niigata, or Akiyamago (the area of Tsunan, Niigata and Sakae, Nagano).
It is called "Neko-chigura" in Sekikawa, and "Neko-tsugura" in Akiyamago.
Chigura or tsugura is written as "稚座" in kanji, and means basket in the Niigata dialect
where there is the custom to use rice straw baskets for babies. Niigata
constitutes, in fact, a rice granary and the basket industry is a side
business in the winter season when the prefecture becomes snowbound.[1]
Presently, chigura for cats vary in shape according to the originality of the producer. There are two common types: Pillbox
type and pot-shaped type, there are also some basket types. As cats
seem to prefer small enclosed spaces, they like neko-chigura to sleep
in.
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