The Legend of Maneki Neko the Lucky Cat
August 15, 2018
If you’ve ever been to Chinatown, you would’ve undoubtedly seen a Lucky Cat figurine waving at you from the shop windows. Behind this cute toy-like cat is a Japanese legend still honoured to this day.
The Japanese Legend of Maneki Neko
According to the Japanese legend, the story of Maneki Neko or ‘beckoning cat’ begins about 350 years ago at a Zen Buddhist temple called Gotoku-ji just a few miles outside of Tokyo. Under the strict rule of the Samurai at that time, the temple and its locals were poverty stricken and barely had enough food to keep them going.
One day a calico cat happened upon the temple and caught the attention of the High Priest by waving at him the way that is traditional for Japan – lifting his paw and curling it towards him, sort of like a one-arm doggie paddle! The High Priest, the only monk at the temple, brought the cat inside and fed him a bowl of what scraps of food he had left. He could see the cat was happy so he made him feel welcome and gave him a name – Maneki Neko, Beckoning Cat.
Each day the cat would visit and the High Priest would feed him. He loved Maneki Neko and they spent most of their days together until he died. The monk told Maneki Neko that he believed he would bring good fortune upon the temple and to the good people of the area.
Even Samurai Warriors Can’t Resist A Cat
On one particular day, this curious calico cat ventured down to the front gates of the temple and noticed a group of Samurai Lords on white horses taking shelter under a huge tree. The skies were threatening rain and Maneki Neko knew a storm was brewing. He beckoned to the lords to follow him into the temple. The lords were curious and thought the temple would offer better shelter than the tree, so they followed. As they moved away from the tree, a blinding bolt of lighting struck it down, barely missing the Samurai. The Lords looked at the cat and back at the tree and couldn’t believe their good fortune. The cat had saved their lives. As a reward, the High Lord became a patron of the temple and invested many riches into its community.
The Cat that Brings Good Fortune
Maneki Neko lived out his days at the temple and when he died, the High Priest built a shrine in his honour, housing it in a small place of worship tucked away in the gardens of the temple. There is a sculpture of Maneki Neko and figurines of every size. Maneki Neko is viewed a mini-god, an incarnation of the Buddha himself, so he has a lot of street cred!
The Maneki Neko temple is known as the ‘building that brings good fortune.’ Every year hundreds of people, mostly from Tokyo, make the pilgrimage to worship at the shrine. For good luck, they take a figurine of Maneki Neko, returning (hopefully) the following year when their fortunes come true. As a symbol of thanks to the gods, they return the Maneki Neko figurine to the shrine, passing the good luck and fortune onto the next believer.
From Maneki Neko To Hello Kitty, Cats Are Lucky!
Maneki Neko has taken on many faces since then and spread to many other cultures in the region. The cute toy Hello Kitty is unmistakably a reincarnation of this tradition and there’s even a Pokemon character called Meowth that resembles Maneki Neko.
Chinese traditions have their own Maneki Neko known as Lucky Cat that can vary in colour and dress, but he’s still an embodiment of the original calico cat that was curious enough to stop by a temple and entertain a lonely monk for a few morsels of food. Because of Maneki Neko, cats are seen as lucky throughout Asia and treated like gods!