Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash
There are several legends about the true origin of the "Lucky Cat". But, there is a consensus that Manekineko may have first appeared in the mid-XNUMXth century, during the late Edo period in Japan.
Maneki Neko at Gotokuji, Tokyo Photo by Susann Schuster on Unsplash
One of the most popular tales of all is the Legend of Gotokuji Temple, which tells of a local monk who tended Gotokuji Temple (west of Tokyo) and that, despite being very poor, the man used to share his food with his cat Tama. One day, a gentleman named Naotaka II of Hikone Province, during a strong storm, decided to take shelter under a tree very close to the Gotokuji temple. The lord saw the monk's cat beckoning to him and followed him; an instant later, the tree was struck by lightning and fell. The rich man, grateful for the cat saving his life, became very friendly with the poor monk. When Tama died, he was buried in the cemetery for cats, so supposedly in the temple the first Manekineko figurine was made in his honor.
Currently, Gōtoku-ji is taken over by thousands of statues of cats, of the most varied sizes. Yeah, people have the custom of traveling there to see the variety of white cats and pray for good luck. Statues can be purchased at the temple and are usually left behind as an offering of sorts; although many take them home as a souvenir.
Photo by Joshua Olsen on Unsplash
The second legend tells the story of a geisha, whose pet cat was caught one day scratching her kimono and ended up being decapitated by the owner of the brothel, who believed that the cat was bewitched. Then, the cat's head flew to where a snake was ready to attack the geisha, thus killing the snake and saving the girl. To console the geisha, one of the customers made a wooden figurine similar to the cat and presented it as a gift.
Maneki Neko Photo by Katharine Crompton on Unsplash
Another legend concerns an elderly woman who lived in the former Imado Prefecture (今戸| present-day Asakusa 浅草, whose location is east of Tokyo) and who had to sell her cat due to extreme poverty. Soon after, the cat appeared to her in a dream instructing her to make a statue similar to him out of clay, telling her that it would bring her good luck. So she did, following the cat's instructions. Finally, the figurines became so popular that the old lady began to sell more and more of these objects similar to her cat and managed to get out of poverty.
Photo by angelsover Pixabay
It is very common for Manekineko to be used in Asian stores and restaurants. Figurines can be found with left paw, right paw or both raised. In general, it is believed that a raised left paw helps attract more customers, while a raised right paw can attract more wealth and bring good luck. Incidentally, the Lucky Cat can be found in various sizes, colors and with different meanings. That is, depending on the color of the Manekineko, there will be a specific symbology around it.
Although the white Manekineko is the most common – which represents luck and happiness – there are other colors with different meanings, such as black, which serves to bring protection against diseases and evil spirits; pink is indicated for those who seek luck in love and green for those who wish to succeed academically and professionally, while gold predicts wealth and prosperity.
Image by sigit nur wicaksono on Pixabay
In the city of Okayama, in Okayama-ken there is a museum dedicated to the lucky cat. And the Manekineko Museum of art, where more than 700 types of Manekineko are exposed. You can check the official page of the Manekineko Museum of art by clicking here.In Seto, Aichi-ken, you can also visit the Manekineko Neko Museum, a historic building that houses more than 5.000 kittens of all kinds. You can check the Maneki Neko Museum page by clicking here.
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