The Probert Encyclopaedia of Japanese Mythology

MANEKI NEKO

In Japanese mythology, maneki neko (the beckoning cat or waving cat) originates with a story of a cat that stood in the doorway of the Gotoku-ji temple and raised her paw in the traditional Japanese beckoning gesture to a passing feudal lord. The feudal lord followed the cat into the temple and as he did so a lightning bolt struck the place where he had been previously standing. The lord realised that the cat had saved his life and from then on the beckoning cat represented the goddess of mercy. From Japan the mythology of the beckoning cat spread to the rest of the Orient including China, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. The cat depicted beckoning with its right hand beckons money and good fortune, the cat beckoning with its left paw is beckoning customers and good fortune. Typically the cat is depicted in three colours, however it is also produced in black as a talisman against evil and stalkers.
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