Maneki Neko

The maneki neko is the cat in the doorway of every shop in Japan, one paw raised, beckoning. The gesture looks like a wave to a Western eye and means come here to a Japanese one, and the cat has been doing it since the Edo period, when a temple cat is said to have beckoned a lord out of a rainstorm and into a fortune. Right paw for money, left paw for people, both paws for both. Twenty-one here in glazed ceramic on a red cushion, most of them money boxes, white with a fan or an abacus or in a single colour with a wish brushed on the body, and this page is about which paw, which colour, and where the cat goes.

Which paw, and which colour

The right paw raised invites money and is the one shops choose; the left paw raised invites people and is the one for a home or a restaurant; both paws raised invite both and are considered a little greedy, which is why they are rarer. The height of the paw matters too: a paw raised high beckons from far away, a paw raised low beckons what is near. The colour sets the wish. White, the classic, for general luck and purity. Gold for wealth. Black to keep bad luck and illness out. Red for health. Pink for love and happiness. Blue for success in work and study, or safety on the road. Green for a pass at the exam. Purple for fortune to come. The kanji brushed on the body of the single-colour cats says the wish out loud.

The twenty-one

The white glazed cats are the traditional ones, on a red cushion with a red cord collar and brass bells: painted with plum blossom and a fan; holding a red fan in each paw; holding a black abacus; holding a red festival drum; with a pink flower on the head; with two gold coins on wires above the head, holding a fan and a gold ingot, an open scroll, or an orange fortune bag. The single-colour cats, pink, red, sky blue, black, orange and purple, have a white face, blossom or gold on the ears and the wish brushed on the body. The round-eyed kawaii cats hold a red fan and a pink ball, a gold mallet, or a gold plaque. Two cats wear a painted kimono, one blue with a hat and one large in pink with a red bow. And one white cat waves its paw on a solar cell, slowly, all day, which is the one for a windowsill. Most are money boxes with a slot at the back; the daruma beside them keeps the goal the cat brings the money for.

Where the cat goes

Facing the door, so it beckons what comes in: by the entrance at home, on the counter in a shop, on the desk where the work happens. Not on the floor, and not with its back to the room. A white cat with a raised right paw on the shelf by the front door is the classic placement; a black cat on the same shelf is the one that keeps trouble out; a gold one beside the place you keep money is the one people buy for a friend who has just opened a business. The money box ones get fed coins, which is the point of them.

Care

Glazed ceramic: dust, or wipe with a damp cloth; the cushion is fabric and brushes clean. Open the money box from the stopper underneath. The solar cat wants a window. Made to Japanese designs in Asia, and every page says so.

Maneki neko: the questions we are asked

Which paw is for money?

The right. The left is for people. Both is for both.

What colour should I buy?

White for luck in general, gold for wealth, black to keep bad luck out, pink for love, blue for work and study, green for exams. The wish is brushed on the body.

Where do I put it?

Facing the door, at the entrance or on the desk, raised off the floor. It beckons what comes in.

Is it a money box?

Most of them, with a slot at the back and a stopper underneath. Each page says.