They’re present in each one of our machiya, the Maneki-Neko, “beckoning cat”, welcoming you. If you’ve been in Japan for a few days, you already saw them all around, usually at the entrance of shops and restaurants. Yes, these Maneki-Neko are a very common Japanese figurine (lucky charm or talisman) which are often believed to bring good luck to the owner. The figurine depicts a cat (traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed at the entrance. Nowadays, some of these sculptures are electric or battery-powered and have a slow-moving paw beckoning.
The Maneki-Neko is sometimes also called the welcoming cat, lucky cat, money cat, happy cat, beckoning cat, or fortune cat in English.
Maneki-Neko come in different colors, styles and degrees of ornateness. Common colors are white, black, gold and sometimes red. In addition to ceramic figurines, Maneki-Neko can be found as keychains, piggy banks, air fresheners, house-plant pots, and miscellaneous ornaments, as well as large statues. Even though Maneki- eko is a Japanese term and Maneki- eko are Japanese figurines, they are sometimes incorrectly called the “Chinese lucky cat” and are increasingly popular among Chinese merchants.
I’ve recently learned that Maneki-Neko exist with two basic types of position: either the right or the left paw raised. The significance of the right and left raised paw differs with time and place. A common belief is that the raised left paw invites or brings in customers or people, while a right paw brings good luck and wealth, although some believe the opposite, or that one paw is for luck and the other for wealth. Another interpretation says that a raised left paw attracts money, while a raised right paw protects it.
Regardless of what these raised paws mean, our little cats are cute and we love them.
