Japanese people love good luck charms.
We give them as a gift or display in our house.
Consciously or not, we see these around us in our daily lives.
Some are derived from Hinduism or Chinese culture.
Japanese good luck charms also come from Shinto and Buddhism,
in which we wish prosperity of our descendants and health.
Japanese good luck charms are not only cute, but have a lot of meanings
for Japanese people. I would like to share them with many of you
in different countries and want you to know about Japan more.
Today, I would like to introduce a lucky cat to you.
A lucky cat is called “Maneki-neko” in Japanese.
招き猫 (Maneki-neko)
maneki= beckoning
neko= cat
Meaning:
A cat that brings luck and happiness or to us.
A cart that brings customers to shops or restaurants.
In general, people who run their shops or restaurants display a lucky cat to have more customers and make their business more prosperous.
There is a unique museum called Manekineko museum,
where you can see so many kinds of lucky cats.
Here is the link:
(in Seto city, Aichi prefecture)
