Maneki-neko Meaning: Japan's Lucky Cat, Explained (Paws, Colors and the Coin)

What is a maneki-neko? A maneki-neko (招き猫, "beckoning cat") is a Japanese lucky charm shaped like a seated cat with one paw raised. The raised paw is a beckoning gesture. It invites customers, money and good fortune in. That's why you see it on shop counters and in restaurant windows across Japan and around the world.

It's one of the most recognizable good-luck symbols on earth. It is also, technically, a cat telling you to come closer, which most real cats would never do.

What does maneki-neko mean?

The name is literal. Maneku (招く) means "to beckon" or "to invite," and neko (猫) means "cat." Put together: the cat that invites you in.

The gesture is the part that confuses people outside Japan. In Japan, you call someone over with your palm facing out and your fingers bending down and back toward yourself. To many Westerners that looks like waving hello, or goodbye. So the maneki-neko gets called the "lucky waving cat," and many of the battery-powered versions sold abroad swing their arm back and forth like they're greeting you.

The cat is calling you over. That distinction matters a lot to shopkeepers and very little to people who just like cats.

Where the maneki-neko comes from

Nobody knows exactly who made the first maneki-neko. The origins are disputed, and several places in Japan have their own legend about it. The firmest records date the figures to the late Edo period, in the 1800s, around Edo, the city now called Tokyo.

Here are the best-known origin stories. They're legends, not history, and they don't agree with each other.

The Gōtoku-ji temple legend

Gōtoku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Setagaya, Tokyo. According to its legend, a feudal lord, usually named as Ii Naotaka of the Hikone domain, was passing the temple when the priest's cat raised a paw and beckoned him inside. He followed it. In many versions, a storm broke or lightning struck right where he had been standing. Grateful, the lord became the temple's patron and the temple prospered.

Today Gōtoku-ji's grounds are packed with thousands of small white beckoning-cat figures, left by visitors. It is one of the most photographed maneki-neko spots in Japan.

The Imado legend

Imado is a neighborhood in Asakusa, Tokyo. In this story, a poor old woman had to give up her cat because she couldn't afford to keep it. The cat came to her in a dream and told her to make its image in clay. She did, sold the figures, and her fortunes turned. Imado Shrine, which is decorated with beckoning cats, presents itself as a birthplace of the maneki-neko.

The courtesan's cat

Another Edo-era story follows a courtesan in the Yoshiwara pleasure district who kept a beloved cat. When the cat wouldn't stop tugging at her robe, someone assumed it was attacking her and cut off its head. The head flew up and killed a snake hiding above her. Heartbroken, she received a carved wooden cat in its memory.

In every version a cat raises its paw, someone pays attention, and things go well. The legends just disagree on who and where.

Left paw vs right paw: what's the difference?

This is the most-asked maneki-neko question, and sources disagree on the answer. The most common version goes like this:

Some sources flip the first two. Some say a both-paws cat is asking for too much. Plenty of shops ignore all of it and buy the one they like the look of.

A few more beliefs you'll see repeated:

• Paw height: a higher paw is said to beckon luck from farther away.
• Placement: cats are often set near a shop's entrance or by the register, facing the door.

None of this is official. Nobody governs maneki-neko rules. The closest thing is the Japan Maneki-Neko Club.

What do maneki-neko colors mean?

The traditional maneki-neko is a calico: white with black and orange or brown patches. In Japan, calico cats (mike-neko, 三毛猫) are associated with good luck, and calico is often called the classic choice.

Modern figures come in many colors, and sellers give each one a meaning. These meanings are not traditional rules. They vary a lot from source to source, so treat this as a general guide:

If you want the one with the most history behind it, get the calico. If you want the one that matches your kitchen, that's also a valid strategy.

What is the maneki-neko holding?

Most maneki-neko hold a large gold oval coin in the paw that isn't raised. That's a koban (小判), a gold coin used during the Edo period. A koban was worth one ryō, the gold currency unit of the time.

The coin on a maneki-neko is usually inscribed 千万両, "ten million ryō." That's a lot more than one ryō. Nobody has ever accused the lucky cat of thinking small.

Other common details:

• A red collar and a bell, like a pampered house cat.
• A bib.
• Other lucky objects instead of a coin on some figures, such as a fish or a mallet.

Where you see the maneki-neko today

The maneki-neko spread well beyond Japan. You'll find it:

• In shops and restaurants across Japan, almost always near the entrance or the register.
• In Chinese and other Asian-owned businesses worldwide, where it's often called the "fortune cat." This leads a lot of people to assume it's Chinese. The figure is Japanese in origin, though it has been widely adopted.
• As the waving gold plastic version, with a battery-powered arm that never stops.
• At Gōtoku-ji and Imado Shrine in Tokyo, for anyone who wants to see the legends' home turf.
• On September 29, which the Japan Maneki-Neko Club celebrates as Maneki-Neko Day. The numbers 9, 2, 9 can be read ku, fu, ku, which sounds like kuru fuku, "good fortune comes."
• In pop culture, from anime and video games to emoji keyboards and, apparently, T-shirts.

Wear it: the Talk to the Paw tee

The maneki-neko has spent about two centuries inviting people in. Ours is done.

The Talk to the Paw Maneki Cat T-Shirt keeps the traditional details: the koban coin, the red collar and the bell. The raised paw is still there too. It just means something else now. Red 招き猫 runs down the side, with TALK TO THE PAW underneath. Front print.

It still technically counts as a lucky cat. We checked with nobody. Printed to order in black, pepper, ivory or white, sizes S to 3XL.