Japanese Bobtails are believed to be derived from domestic and feral populations of kinked-tailed cats widespread throughout Southeast Asia and southern China.

Predominantly-white calicoes are especially favored by the Japanese and by cat fanciers,[citation needed] and strongly represented in folklore, though other colorations are also accepted by breed standards.

Feral and domestic cats with shortened and kinked tails were first documented in Southeast Asia and southern China long before the development of modern breeds.

These cats were called "qilin tail" in southern China (after the mythical creature) and were traditional symbols of fortune and wealth.

Charles Darwin described the widespread occurrence of this trait in The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication (1868): "Throughout an immense area, namely the Malayan archipelago, Siam, Pegu and Burmah, all the cats have truncated tails about half the proper length, often with a sort of knot at the end.

It is believed that they first arrived along with Buddhist monks in the 6th century, who kept cats as a means of preventing rats from damaging scrolls made from rice paper.

[2][4] In 1602, Japanese authorities decreed that all cats should be set free to help deal with rodents threatening the nation's silkworm population and associated industry.

[6] As of 2013, there are a number of Japanese Bobtail breeders, most of which are based in North America with a few in Europe and at least one in Japan; yet the breed remains rare.

[7] The Japanese Bobtail is a recognised breed by all major registering bodies, with the exception of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), the domestic registry of the United Kingdom.

[11] Compared with other breeds, Japanese Bobtails tend to have smaller litters with the kittens being proportionally larger at birth and developing at a faster rate.

Thinking the cat might have a message from the gods, he arose and went to it; no sooner had he done so than a branch large enough to kill a man fell where he had been sitting just moments before.

It is also likely to have carried much prestige, having originated on the continent and arrived via Korea in the Asuka period (6th century CE), along with other prized articles of Chinese culture.

[12] The character Muta from The Cat Returns was based on a stray Japanese Bobtail that would often visit Studio Ghibli.

In W Is for Wasted, by Sue Grafton (part of her alphabet mystery series), private investigator Kinsey Millhone and her landlord Henry Pitts acquire a Japanese bobtail and name him Ed.

During a fight with a deranged murder suspect, Ed scratches the killer, thereby saving Kinsey from death by scalpel.

In illustrator Jey Parks's 2017 book Star Trek Cats, Hikaru Sulu is depicted as a Japanese Bobtail.