This Guy Makes Giant Cat Heads for a Living

Based solely on the number of viral cat videos on the internet, we know that there are a lot of cat lovers out there. Many are passionate about it, shouting to the world in mugs and t-shirts that they are cat people. Then there’s this guy in Japan, who has dedicated his life to making giant cat heads.

Meet Sato Housetsu, a wool artist in Tokyo who has been creating wearable cat heads for nine years. But first, he started small.

“When I was small, I really wanted a real-looking cat doll, but I couldn’t find one. And when I grew up, I decided to sew them myself,” he told VICE.

He started 20 years ago by sculpting clay cat figures, but quickly found that this technique couldn’t replicate cats’ soft fur. So he brought out his felting needles and started adding wool to the clay. What came out was a lifelike cat doll that could fool anyone at first sight. He hasn’t stopped making the dolls since.

He wanted to share his passion with other people so in 2011, despite never going to art school, Sato opened the Japanese Wool Art Academy in Adachi, with the sole purpose of teaching people to make lifelike animal dolls with wool.

“I really think our academy is the only place in the world that teaches how to make realistic, life-sized cats," he said, proudly.

At the academy, students can choose to pursue a “major” in wool cats or dogs. Those who choose the cat route can also make otters (aka sea cats).

Making the giant cat heads was a natural progression of his art but he said that he never even planned to make them wearable.

“One day, I had a class on how to make gigantic cat heads. I had made one of my pet cat previously, for a display at an art exhibition. My student then suggested that it would be funny if we wore them and took a picture,” Sato said.

That’s exactly what they did. He took photos wearing the cat heads with his students and posted them on Twitter, where they went viral in 2015.

Sato never thought the cat heads would be so popular. "I never thought it would go viral after wearing it. I'm really proud of my students," he said.

Soon after, he started getting calls for customised giant cat heads. Musicians like Hyunjin, a member of the K-pop idol group LOONA, and Florida-based indie artist Chasing Jonah’s used the wearable cat heads in their music videos.

Sato is an animal protection advocate, so the cat heads have been used at events like the Chiyoda Cat Festival and Animal Welfare Summit, as well.

Now, he has an entire class where students make their own giant cat heads. Sato has also released seven instructional books on how to make dogs, cats, and small animals using felt wool.

However, Sato said that the pandemic has hit his school hard.

“My school has closed as I was unable to pay rent. This means I am unable to have as many classes as I did with my students. I’ve been really upset that I'm not able to continue my academy,” he said.

In July, he started a crowdfunding campaign with the hopes of reopening. Sato said that the donations will be used to fund classes and pay his staff. He will also give a portion to cosplayers and performers who were unable to use his cat heads due to the virus. In return, donors can get personalised cat heads at a discounted price.

“There was a customer who had bought three big cat heads, which helped a lot as they’re quite expensive. I am very thankful for that person,” Sato said.

As of press time, he has reached 57 percent of the 3,000,000 yen ($28,000) target.

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