Beckoning cat

招き猫 maneki neko

Beckoning cat

The beckoning cat invites luck: a raised right paw attracts money, a raised left paw attracts customers. A shop-opening and business gift.

Late Edo period, Edo (Tokyo)

Beckoning-cat figures are first securely recorded in the late Edo period as Imado-ware 'marushime-neko' sold at Sensō-ji; an 1852 Hiroshige print shows them on sale. Several temples and shrines claim the origin story: Gōtoku-ji (a cat that beckoned the lord Ii Naotaka in from a storm), Jishō-in and Imado Shrine. By the Meiji period they were advertised widely and spread to shops across Japan.

A standard shop-opening gift; Gōtoku-ji in Setagaya is filled with offered cat figures.

Technique catalog · draft for review

Every way to wrap, carry and wear a furoshiki.

The furoshiki.com archive, sliced into annotated steps with plain directions, plus techniques found in research.