Nemuri-neko (眠り猫 or 眠猫, "sleeping cat", from nemuri, "sleeping/peaceful" and neko, "cat") is a famous wood carving by Hidari Jingorō (左甚五郎の作) located in the East corridor at Tōshō-gū Shrine (日光東照宮) in Nikkō, Japan.
The Japanese sleeping cat is modeled after the famous crouching nemurineko[clarification needed] carving by Hidari Jingorō.Based on the writing of Zempei Matsumura´s book, Nikkō Tōshō-gū Shrine and Jingorō Hidari published by Nohi Publishing Company in 1975:
Hidari Jingorō loved cats and was fascinated by cats. Jingorō spent eight months in seclusion to refine his knowledge and technique in wood sculpturing. He spent the majority of his time studying, sculpturing, and carving wooden cats that appeared lifelike in various shapes.
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