Maneki Neko
The beckoning cat with its paw raised before a red sun, pines, a lantern and indigo waves

招き猫 · the beckoning cat

$NEKOManeki Neko

For two hundred years she has sat by the till of every noodle stall, pachinko parlour and corner shop in Japan, one paw raised, calling luck in through the door. Now she sits by yours.

CA

Emakimono · a hand scroll in four scenes

How Tama saved a lord

  1. An old priest on a temple veranda under pines, offering a bowl of rice to a white cat 壱

    A poor temple

    Edo, the 1600s. At Gotoku-ji, a crumbling temple in Setagaya, a priest with almost nothing shares what little rice he has with his cat, Tama.

  2. A white cat in a temple gateway with one paw raised, a lord on horseback on the road beyond 弐

    A paw raised

    A lord, Ii Naotaka, is passing on the road when he sees Tama at the gate, lifting a paw as if calling him in. Curious, he follows the cat inside.

  3. Lightning over a rain-lashed road outside the temple wall, a traveller sheltering by the gate 参

    The storm breaks

    A moment later the sky opens and lightning splits the very spot where he had been standing. The cat had called him out of harm's way.

  4. The temple restored at dusk, lanterns lit, rows of small white beckoning-cat figures by the gate 肆

    Luck repaid

    Grateful, the lord becomes the temple's patron and it flourishes. Today Gotoku-ji's grounds hold thousands of white beckoning cats, left by visitors who came to ask for a little of Tama's luck.

Placard · how to read a beckoning cat

Every detail means something

1The raised paw
A raised right paw calls in money; a raised left paw calls in customers. $NEKO lifts the right. The higher the paw, the further the luck is called from.
2The red collar and bell
Edo-era house cats wore red silk collars with a small bell so they could be heard about the house. The charm kept them.
3The koban
An oval gold coin of the Edo period. The cat's is usually inked 千万両, ten million ryō, an absurd fortune: the cat never asks for small luck.
4The calico coat
White for happiness, patches of orange and black for the mike-neko, the three-coloured cat, held to be the luckiest of all.

御神籤 · a fortune, just for fun

Shake the box

At a shrine you shake a hexagonal box until one numbered stick slides out, then trade the number for a paper fortune. Ask the cat. A bad slip gets tied to the rack and left behind; a good one goes home in your pocket.