Maneki-neko

{{short description|Japanese figurine of a beckoning cat}} {{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}} thumb|''Maneki-neko'' with motorized arm beckons customers to buy lottery tickets in Tokyo, Japan

The '''''maneki-neko''''' (招き猫, {{Literal translation|beckoning cat}}) is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail, with a paw raised in a beckoning gesture. The figurines are often displayed in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, dry cleaners, laundromats, bars, casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and other businesses, generally near the entrance,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taggart |first=Emma |date=July 26, 2021 |title=What Is Maneki-Neko? Discover the Fascinating History of the Japanese Lucky Cat |url=https://mymodernmet.com/maneki-neko-japanese-lucky-cat/ |website=My Modern Met}}</ref> as well as households.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Carlson |first1=Kathie |title=The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images |last2=Flanagin |first2=Michael N. |last3=Martin |first3=Kathleen |last4=Martin |first4=Mary E. |last5=Mendelsohn |first5=John |last6=Rodgers |first6=Priscilla Young |last7=Ronnberg |first7=Ami |last8=Salman |first8=Sherry |last9=Wesley |first9=Deborah A. |publisher=Taschen |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-8365-1448-4 |editor-last=Arm |editor-first=Karen |location=Köln |page=300 |editor-last2=Ueda |editor-first2=Kako |editor-last3=Thulin |editor-first3=Anne |editor-last4=Langerak |editor-first4=Allison |editor-last5=Kiley |editor-first5=Timothy Gus |editor-last6=Wolff |editor-first6=Mary}}</ref> Some ''maneki-neko'' are equipped with a mechanical paw that slowly moves back and forth.

''Maneki-neko'' come in different colors and styles and vary in degrees of detail. Common colors are white, black, red, and gold. In addition to statues, ''maneki-neko'' can be found in the form of keychains, piggy banks, air fresheners, pots, and numerous other media and merchandise. ''Maneki-neko'' are sometimes referred to simply as "lucky cats" or "calling cats".<ref name=":1" />

==Common features== thumb|upright=1.35|Maneki-neko in a shop, Japan ''Maneki-neko'' are traditionally depicted seated, holding a koban coin, with one paw raised in a beckoning gesture. This may be confused for a waving gesture by non-locals.<ref name="Calero2005">{{cite book|last=Calero|first=Henry H.|title=The Power of Nonverbal Communication: How You Act is More Important Than what You Say |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=plCVYnnUhjoC&pg=PA116|year=2005|location=Aberdeen, Washington|publisher=Silver Lake Publishing|isbn=978-1-56343-788-5|page=116}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wibbeke |first=E. S. |title=Gestures around the World |url=http://www.globalbusinessleadership.com/gestures_overview.asp |website=Globalbusinessleadership.com |access-date=4 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311180211/http://www.globalbusinessleadership.com/gestures_overview.asp |archive-date=11 March 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The typical Japanese beckoning gesture is made by holding up the hand, palm down, and repeatedly folding the fingers down and back, thus the cat's appearance. Some ''maneki-neko'' made specifically for western markets will have the cat's paw facing upwards, in a more familiar beckoning gesture.<ref name="Shizuko">{{cite web |last=Mishima |first=Shizuko |title=Manekineko: Japanese Lucky Cats |url=http://gojapan.about.com/cs/traditionculture/a/luckycats.htm |website=Japan Travel |publisher=About.com |access-date=3 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428141608/http://gojapan.about.com/cs/traditionculture/a/luckycats.htm |archive-date=28 April 2012 }}</ref>

''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.<ref name="Daruma">{{cite web|url=http://www.darumamagazine.com/new/articles-excerpts/maneki-neko-feline-fact-fiction/ |title=Maneki Neko: Feline Fact & Fiction |last=Pate |first=Alan |website=Daruma Magazine |publisher=Takeguchi Momoko |location=Amagasaki, Japan |year=2008 |access-date=30 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314191210/http://www.darumamagazine.com/new/articles-excerpts/maneki-neko-feline-fact-fiction/ |archive-date=14 March 2013 }}</ref> A statue with the left paw raised is to get more customers, while the right paw raised is to get more money. Hence it is also said that the one with left paw is for business and the right is for home.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://nekochan.jp/cat/article/1818|title=招き猫の色やあげている手の違いなど知られざる意味を一挙解説！|trans-title=Commentary on unknown meanings such as the color of the beckoning cat and the difference of raising hands|language=ja|website=nekochan.jp|date=27 March 2019|access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref>

Battery- and solar-powered ''maneki-neko'' are a modern iteration. Those sources power a simple circuit that regulates a current going through a coil, whose electromagnetic field subsequently "pushes" a magnet mounted to the end of the waving arm.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scharfglass |first=Kerry |date=2018-06-01 |title=An Electromagnet Brings Harmony To This Waving Cat |url=https://hackaday.com/2018/06/01/an-electromagnet-brings-harmony-to-this-waving-cat/ |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Hackaday |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Composition=== [[File:Maneki-Neko and Okiagari-Koboshi Daruma Edo Period.jpg|thumb|upright|A wooden mold for a ''maneki-neko'' and Okiagari-Koboshi Daruma doll from the Edo period, 18th century. Brooklyn Museum.]] Antique examples of ''maneki-neko'' may be made of carved wood, stone and metal, handmade porcelain or cast iron.<ref name="Daruma" />

===Colors=== Originally, ''maneki-neko'' were white, but over the years with the combination of Feng Shui, different color variations appeared. The original white color is to get good luck and overall good fortune, while black is to ward off evil, red is for good health, yellow or gold is for wealth, and pink is for romance.<ref name=":0" />

==History== [[File:Characters from Plays as Merchants and Customers, from the series Flourishing Business in Balladtown 02.jpg|thumb|"Joruri-machi Hanka no zu" by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1852]] [[File:今戸焼丸〆猫嘉永安政風型.JPG|thumb|''Marushime-neko'', a variation of ''maneki-neko'' made of Imado ware in the style of the Kaei and Ansei periods of the Edo period]] It is commonly believed that ''maneki-neko'' originated in Tokyo (then named Edo) or, sometimes, Kyoto.<ref name="Daruma" /> It is a common theory that ''maneki-neko'' as figurines originated from Imado ware sold in Asakusa during the Edo period (1603–1868). During the Tenshō era (1573–1592) of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1592), clay suitable for pottery was discovered in Imado in Asakusa, and local people began to make Imado ware. In the Edo period, potters from the Mikawa Province moved to Imado in Asakusa and further developed Imado ware, and in the Genroku era (1688–1704), Imado dolls were made, which is thought to have given rise to ''maneki-neko''.<ref name="shogaku261217">{{cite web|url=https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/travel-rock/1773/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702072156/https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/travel-rock/1773/|script-title=ja:招き猫ってそもそも何？発祥は豪徳寺？今戸神社？秘密を徹底検証！|language=ja|publisher= Shogakukan|date=26 December 2017|archive-date=2 July 2023|access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref> The earliest known record of ''maneki-neko'' as figurines is the ''marushime-neko'', a variation of ''maneki-neko'' made of Imado ware in the late Edo period.<ref name="asahi070117">{{cite web|url=https://sippo.asahi.com/article/10562501|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601014843/https://sippo.asahi.com/article/10562501|script-title=ja:招き猫のルーツを探るささやかな庶民の願いこめ、化け続ける|language=ja|publisher=The Asahi Shimbun|date=7 January 2017|archive-date=1 June 2023|access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref>

One of the earliest records of ''maneki-neko'' appear in the Bukō nenpyō's (a chronology of Edo) entry dated 1852. Utagawa Hiroshige's ukiyo-e "Joruri-machi Hanka no zu," painted also in 1852, depicts the ''marushime-neko'', a variation of ''maneki-neko'', being sold at Sensō-ji Temple, Tokyo. In 1876, during the Meiji era, it was mentioned in a newspaper article, and there is evidence that kimono-clad ''maneki-neko'' were distributed at a shrine in Osaka during this time. A 1902 advertisement for ''maneki-neko'' indicates that by the turn of the century they were popular.<ref name="asahi070117"/>

There are a variety of tales in the folklore of Japan concerning the origin of ''maneki-neko''. Several Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines that appear in folklore, such as Gōtoku-ji, {{ill|Jishōin Shrine|ja|自性院 (新宿区)}} and {{ill|Imado Shrine|ja|今戸神社}}, are claimed to be the birthplace of the ''maneki-neko''.<ref name="my220714">{{cite web|url=https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20140722-cat/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207230621/https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20140722-cat/|script-title=ja:東京都の"招き猫発祥の地"である豪徳寺・自性院・今戸神社、猫はどう違う?|language=ja|publisher=Mynavi News|date=22 July 2014|archive-date=7 December 2022|access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="shogaku060316">{{cite web|url=https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20160306_390990.html?DETAIL|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015215305/https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20160306_390990.html?DETAIL|script-title=ja:招き猫発祥地争い浅草・今戸神社と世田谷・豪徳寺が主張中|language=ja|publisher=Shogakukan|date=6 March 2016|archive-date=15 October 2021|access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Gotokuji-manekineko-a-october2015.jpg|thumb|Many ''maneki-neko'' are enshrined in Gōtoku-ji Temple. The temple is famous for its folklore as the birthplace of ''maneki-neko''.]] The most famous folklore concerns Ii Naotaka during the Kan'ei era (1622–1624) of the Edo period. On their way back from the falconry, Naotaka's party stopped at Gōtoku-ji Temple to rest after being beckoned by a cat at the temple gate. A violent thunderstorm soon followed, and they marvelled at the cat's good fortune and thanked the temple priest for his hospitality. As a result, Gōtoku-ji became the family temple of the Ii clan, and the temple prospered under their patronage. In honour of the cat that brought prosperity to the temple, ''maneki-neko'' was created in later generations.<ref name="nippon010814">{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/nipponblog/m00038/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109035647/https://www.nippon.com/en/nipponblog/m00038/|title=Fortune Beckons: Japan's Lucky Cat Figurines|publisher=nippon.com|date=1 August 2014|archive-date=9 November 2018|access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="nippon210421"/><ref name="shogaku261217"/><ref name="asahi070117"/><ref name="my220714"/><ref name="shogaku060316"/>

The second folklore concerns Ōta Dōkan, a warlord of the Muromachi period (1336–1573) who later became the first to build Edo Castle. During the {{ill|Battles of Ekodahara and Numabukuro|ja|江古田・沼袋原の戦い}} against the Toshima clan, Dōkan was outnumbered and lost his way. It was then that a cat appeared and beckoned him to enter the {{ill|Jishōin Temple|ja|自性院 (新宿区)}}, where he was later able to turn the tide and win the war. Dōkan was so grateful to the cat that he donated a sculpture of the cat to the temple, and the ''maneki-neko'' was created in later generations.<ref name="my220714"/>

The third folklore concerns an old woman who lived near the {{ill|Imado Shrine|ja|今戸神社|}}. She had abandoned her cat out of poverty. One day, the cat came to her in a dream and told her that if she made an ornament of the cat, she would be blessed with good luck. The old woman made an ornament of the cat out of Imado ware, a local speciality, and sold it at the Asakusa Shrine, where it became very popular and made her rich, and the ''maneki-neko'' was created.<ref name="my220714"/><ref name="shogaku060316"/>

The fourth folklore concerns an ''oiran'' (courtesan) named Usugumo in Yoshiwara during the Genroku era of the Edo period. Usugumo was an oiran who worked in Miuraya and always carried a cat with her. People rumoured that Usugumo was a woman bewitched by a demonic cat, and the owner of Miuraya, believing the rumour, cut off the cat's head and killed it. The cat's severed head bit a giant snake lurking in the toilet, saving Usugumo's life. A regular customer gave Usugumo, who was grieving over the cat's death, a wooden carving in the shape of a cat, which was imitated and sold in Asakusa, giving rise to ''maneki-neko''.<ref name="nippon210421">{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01054|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131003520/https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01054/|title="Waneko" Studies: A Journey into Japan's Cat Lore|publisher=nippon.com|date=23 April 2021|archive-date=31 January 2023|access-date=2 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="shogaku261217"/>

According to a folktale, the operator of an impoverished shop (or inn, tavern, temple, etc.) took in a starving stray cat despite barely having enough to feed himself. In gratitude, the cat sat in the front of the store beckoning customers, thus bringing prosperity as a reward to the charitable proprietor. Ever after, the "beckoning cat" has been a symbol of good luck for small business owners.<ref name="Daruma" />

==Beliefs== Superstitions about the ''maneki-neko'' include it being able to "beckon...customers into shops" and "bring good fortune and prosperity into households", and it being an embodiment of "fertile, life-enhancing feline energies."<ref name=":1" />

==In popular culture== Because of its popularity in Chinese communities (including Chinatowns in the United States),<ref name="Daruma" /> the ''maneki-neko'' is frequently mistaken for being Chinese in origin rather than Japanese,<ref name="nippon010814"/> and is therefore sometimes referred to as a "Chinese lucky cat"<ref name="Daruma" /> or ''jīnmāo'' ("golden cat"). This cat is also prevalent in China domestically, and is usually referred to as {{lang-zh|t=招財貓|s=招财猫|hp=zhāocáimāo|j=ziu1 coi4 maau1}}.

Hikone City's mascot, Hikonyan, a famous mascot in Japan, was created based on the folklore of Ii Naotaka and the ''maneki-neko'' of Gōtoku-ji Temple. Hikone City is home to Hikone Castle, a National Treasure that was the base of the Ii clan for generations.<ref name="nippon010814"/><ref name="my220714"/><ref name="shogaku060316"/>

For the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election, won by the then opposition People's National Movement (PNM), a ''maneki-neko was'' utilized by the PNM in its campaign advertising days before election day, featuring a ''maneki-neko'' waving goodbye to then Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar alongside headlines of scandals linked to her People's Partnership administration taken from the front page of local newspapers.<ref>{{Citation |title=Bye Bye Kamla, Bye Bye! | date=2 September 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIUXps_vjw |access-date=2024-03-27 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Bye Bye Kamla, Bye Bye! {{!}} Bye Bye Kamla, Bye Bye! #VotePNM2015 #RedandReady {{!}} By PNM - The People's National MovementFacebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/PNMTT/videos/bye-bye-kamla-bye-bye/10156014198830472/ |access-date=2024-03-27 |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:PD-Maneki Neko.JPG File:Collection of gold and white Maneki Neko in store window.jpg File:Yellow Maneki Neko.jpg File:BellRingingManeki-neko.jpg File:Fortune Cat.jpg File:Maneki neko by pixietart in Chinatown.jpg File:Fortune Cat, Japan.jpg File:Blackmanekineko-saitama-2016july16.jpg File:Yellow maneki neko - Tokyo area - dec 13 2017.jpg File:Triplemanekineko-aug30-2014.jpg File:Fushimi-Tonpuppe 1 makffm.jpg File:Gotokuji Temple (25157733895).jpg </gallery>

==References== {{reflist}}

===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Dale-Green|first=Patricia|title=The Cult of the Cat|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|location=Boston|year=1963|isbn=978-0-517-17500-2}} *{{cite journal|last=Daniels|first=Inge Maria|year=2003|title=Scooping, raking, beckoning luck: luck, agency and the interdependence of people and things in Japan|journal=Royal Anthropological Institute|volume=9|issue=4|pages=619–638|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9655.2003.00166.x}} *{{cite book|editor-last=Masuda|editor-first=Koh|title=Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary|edition=4|publisher=Kenkyusha Limited|location=Tokyo|year=1991|isbn=4-7674-2025-3}} *{{cite book|last=Pate|first=Alan Scott|title=Maneki Neko|publisher=Mingei International Museum|location=San Diego|year=2011|isbn=978-0-914155-25-6}} *{{cite book|last=Wellman|first=Laurel|title=Lucky Cat: He Brings You Good Luck|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco|year=2004|isbn=0-8118-4121-9}} {{refend}}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Maneki neko}}

Category:Japanese popular culture Category:Japanese dolls Category:Japanese folk religion Category:Japanese folklore Category:Japanese folk art Category:Cats in popular culture Category:Superstitions of Japan Category:Lucky symbols Category:Figurines Category:Cats in Japan Category:Cats in art Category:Cats in folklore Category:Inari faith Category:Superstitions of China