The maneki-neko (Japanese: 招き猫, literally 'beckoning cat') is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman), usually made of ceramic in modern times, which is 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—often at the entrance—in shops, restaurants, pachinko
parlors, and other businesses.
Some of the sculptures are electric or
battery-powered and have a slow-moving paw beckoning.
Maneki-neko are sometimes mistakenly called the "Chinese lucky cat", as it is also increasingly popular among Chinese merchants.
Maneki-neko can be found with either the right or left paw raised
(and sometimes both). The significance of the right and left raised paw
differs with time and place. A common belief is that the left paw
raised brings in customers, while a right paw brings good luck and
wealth,[2] although some believe the opposite, or that one paw is for luck and the other for wealth.[1]
Maneki-neko are sometimes depicted holding a coin, usually a gold coin called a koban (小判), used during the Edo period in Japan. A koban was worth one ryō, another early Japanese monetary unit, though the koban most maneki-neko hold is indicated to be worth 'ten million ryō' (千万両 senmanryō), an extraordinary sum of money. The coin ties into the cat's part in bringing good fortune and wealth.
In Japanese, the idiom 'koban to cats' (猫に小判 neko ni koban) is a traditional saying equivalent to the Western 'pearls before swine'.
Some believe the maneki-neko originated in Osaka, while some insist it was Tokyo (then named Edo).[1] Maneki-neko first appeared during the later part of the Edo period in Japan.[1]
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