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Maneki Neko
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Spotted this 招き猫 on a random omiyage shop in Asakusa, Tokyo. The thing’s also known as the Lucky Cat and literally means Beckoning Cat, though I prefer my transration: Say Hi Cat.
As the name implies, they’re supposed to bring good luck, especially to store owners who are beckoning their clients to come. I’m not personally a great fan of Lucky Cats, and with a 12,400 Yen price tag I expect that big sucker to bring me luck for the next 100 years.
According to my Japanese friend, the cat is saying hai and calling you, but Westerners and Europeans commonly mistake the cat’s gesture for a waving or saying good bye gesture. Personally, I think the cat is just trying to scratch my back ^^;; How about you guys?
Though I’m more of the Osaka/Kyoto type for temples, Asakusa has Tokyo’s most beautiful temples, particularly Senso-ji, the oldest in Tokyo. Prepare for an Asakusa photo shoot this week :3
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Tasty~
Common in Hawaii too.
The meaning depends on which hand is held up.
Left =Money
Right = Health
Pretty sure anyway :)
There are more variations actually than just L/R
My interpretation:
Talk to the paw because the face it ain’t a listenin’
~~~~~~ Please dont touch the cat… Lol ^^
Nice blog.
Thanks for stopping by.-
Animoe.net
Chris: I’ve seen them on bars too ^^ I guess drinking beer is healthy! Though they were just left handed or right handed! Didn’t know they were common in Hawaii, also common in Taiwan, we call them 招財貓 –adds the “財” which means teh money.
phossil: As weird as it may sound, I even saw one “No tocar por favor” (Spanish for “don’t touch”) sign in Japan! Talk about random ^^…