He saw a cat beckoning to him from outside a nearby temple, and followed the cat inside. The other story is a little more palatable.Ī man was taking shelter from a storm under a tree. This is one theory for the cat’s paw being up, because it was scratching at the Geisha’s kimono to warn her about the snake. She was sad to lose her pet, and was gifted a cat statue to console her. It was then that the cat’s head went flying up to a ceiling fan and dug its teeth into a snake- which had been laying in wait to attack the Geisha! The owner of the Okiya (a Geisha’s home, essentially) thought the cat was possessed.Īcting quickly, the owner cut off the cat’s head. The story goes that a Geisha had a cat who she adored, but one day it would not stop clawing at her kimono. In the first more gruesome tale, our beloved lucky cat loses its head! The two most popular stories go like this: There are a couple of contrasting origin stories Ultimately, the lucky cat is of Japanese origin but does incorporate imagery from Chinese folklore. Some people say it is a Chinese figure, others say Japanese. Maneki Neko Origin StoryĪs with many legendary figures, there are many people who want to claim Maneki Neko as their own. The gender of Maneki Neko is unknown, and has been reported as both male and female. Maneki Neko translates to “beckoning cat.” Some lucky cat statues even have the paw on a little turning mechanism, causing the cat to beckon at you. You will recognize Maneki Neko as a (usually) white cat with calico markings and one paw raised in the air. Let’s talk about the lucky cat and what makes it so lucky. Who is Maneki Neko, and how would a tattoo of this cat enrich your life? Maneki Neko is a fun choice of ink for Chinese and Japanese people, or those with strong ties to the culture who want to bring this historical kitty’s lucky paws to their life. It’s no wonder Maneki Neko tattoos have become popular. This lucky cat has a name, and a few cool stories behind it. If you’ve ever stepped inside a Chinese or Japanese restaurant, market or gift shop, you may have seen what people in the west often refer to as the “lucky cat.” Are you a cat person? How about a lucky cat person?
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