Maneki-neko

In feudal Japan, there was a poor temple deep in the mountains. The monks had to labor hard for their food, but what they had they shared with their bob-tailed cat. One stormy night, a warlord and his retinue were passing on the road near the temple. To his astonishment, the warlord saw the cat in a lighted window, apparently beckoning to the warriors with a raised paw. Because the cat seemed to welcome them, the warriors turned and entered the temple. In some stories, a lightning bolt struck the place where the lord had been standing only moments before. The cat had not only pointed them to shelter, it had saved the warlord's life!
     The monks welcomed the warlord and his retinue and graciously offered their hospitality. Whatever humble food they had, the monks shared freely with the warriors. The grateful warlord spoke with the monks long into the night to learn about their order while the friendly cat purred by his feet. Soon after, the warlord made a generous endowment to the temple and sent young men as pupils. The temple grew and prospered.
     From that time forward, statues of maneki-neko, the waving cat, are placed facing out of windows so they may beckon good fortune, personal happiness, good friends, and harmony to come inside. Businesses place the statues on their counters or in their windows to beckon in customers. Many Japanese advertisements have small images or icons of maneki-neko.
     The black maneki-neko ward off evil spirits or stalkers; white ones symbolize purity; orange or red ones ward off illnesses and disease and invite good health in; and the gold maneki-neko brings riches. The tri-colored maneki-neko are favored by travellers and sailors because they invite good weather and ward off storms or catastrophes. Rare tri-colored bob-tailed cats are very much favored in Japan. Pink maneki-neko, while not traditional, are becoming popular to attract love.
A new leopard print maneki-neko was designed specifically for Japanese politicians who are looking to collect votes. The Japanese word for leopard is "hyou" which, coincidently, also means "vote." Thus, the word play makes this unique maneki-neko a vote beckoning charm for an election.
     The earliest maneki-neko were made with their left paw raised to invite people or customers. However, most businesses nowadays want money, so most shops have the right paw raised version to welcome cash or good fortune. Many of the cats also have a large gold coin as well. Also, how high the lucky cat raises its paw indicates how far (or how much) you want fortune to enter. Maneki-neko sold in Japan generally show the pads of their paws because the Japanese beckon or gesture palms out. Because Westerners beckon with the back of their hands, overseas (usually money) maneki-neko show the back of their paws. However, no matter what the paw position or color, all maneki-neko bring good luck!