[Background Blog] Black Dog

Now if we suddenly talk about “black dogs”, a lot of readers would be confused as to what we are referring to, especially our readers outside of Taiwan. Most people would think that a black dog is just a dog that is black in colour. So, let’s do a dive on the specifics of this term.

In Taiwan, black dogs usually refer to the black dogs you can find in rural areas. As these dogs are completely raised in the rural areas, so many people may mistake them for a mixed bread. However, in reality, the Taiwan rural dog is internationally recognised as a proper dog breed! In fact, the price of a Taiwan rural dog is higher than most would expect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Dog

Due to the number of interactions between the Taiwannese Dog and the people of Taiwan, there are a lot of legends about the Taiwannese dog itself. Like the legend in which a Black Dog Spirit would compete with other Gods; or how the term “Black Dog Bro'' is used in the Taiwanse dialect to refer to handsome boys.

There even exists a temple in service to the Black Dog Spirit, where it is believed you will bring good luck to others by touching the Black Dog Spirit’s, well... privates. There's also a lottery company based around the Black Dog Spirit which claims to help pick the correct numbers. As such, we could go on with many more ways the Black Dog is ingrained into Taiwanese culture.

https://pets.ettoday.net/news/1145043

But, why are we suddenly talking about the Black Dog in today’s background blog? Well it’s because in the sequel for Nekojishi (Carmacks), we have a character that is based around the legend of the Black Dog!

(We can assure you his fur is black, this just hasn’t been coloured yet.)

Since we’re talking about a spirit based upon the Black Dog, Taiwan already has many tales surrounding the Black Dog Spirit as detailed above.

But aside from the Black Dog Spirit that we’re using as a character in the game, there is another folklore of importance. [Dead cats get hung on trees, while dead dogs get placed in currents].

This is a common superstition during the early days of Taiwan, which refers to how dead cats should be hung dry on trees, while dogs must be placed in a river and allowed to flow away in the currents. People do this to prevent dead dogs and cats from becoming yaoguai when they die and to be reincarnated as fast as possible, or even give them a chance to be reincarnated as a human.

From a modern perspective however, this is hardly very hygienic. But, in the past people wished for their dogs and cats to have a better afterlife, which lead them to believe in such superstitions. Actions that also demonstrate the loyalty of an owner to their pet and how close their relationship was.

Of course, actions like this will cause environmental issues these days. So, we do not encourage people to do this, even if it’s to maintain the tradition of the past.

Although not everyone does this, this action is shown as a sign of respect towards dogs in that era. Well, that is the implication within the folklore at least. However, these dogs may even still become yaoguai, perhaps not even willing to return to their owners as spirits to repay their debt.

The character from the game in question, as you may guess, is a black dog that has become a yaoguai even after going through the actions outlined in this tradition. Fleshy scars cover his body due to the time he was soaked in the water currents after his death. He may look a little frightening at first glance, but we can assure you he is nothing of the sort.

As a yaoguai, he’s particularly familiar with the human world, having been a pet his whole life. However, this does not mean he is very fond of humans. Actually, he’d rather not deal with you at all, let alone tell you who his owner was. I wonder what his role in the story will be? 

...But let's not spoil anything now.

- Studio Klondike