This lovely little Japanese
BobTail Lucky Cat will look
wonderful in your pond or garden
setting
....
..An American version of the
classic Asian Cat Collectible
cast from an original carving
by
world renowned sculptor,
Peter Tyber. Maneki = beckoning
Neko=Cat
The raised paw gesture invites
good fortune !
5" H Cast Concrete . Wt: 3 Lbs. In
Stock
FREE SHIPPING!!! Regular
$49.99
Only $
30.00
What is Maneki Neko?
"The Cat of Goutoku Temple"
Around 1650, in the Setagaya ward
of Tokyo, there was a temple called
Goutoku, which was very poor.
The monk who took care of the place,
lived there with his beloved cat.
One day he told it, "I wish you could
return the favor for my having taken
care of you so well." A few days later,
the wealthy samurai
Naotaka Ii, Lord of Hikone Castle,
and his hunting party ventured into
the temple's compound.
He told the monk, "We were walking
by when a cat at the front gate beckoned
us in with its paw.
May we rest here?" Soon after that,
a fierce storm came but Ii and his
party were spared from it.
While waiting for the storm to pass,
the warrior became impressed with
the monk's nobleness and the
cat's spiritual attitude, and decided
to be the temple's patron, thus rescuing
it from poverty.
Years later, when the cat had died,
the monk buried it within the compound.
In memorial to his beloved
lost pet, he constructed a stone replica
of it. Afterward, rumors spread throughout
the surrounding
community that prayers made to the
image, actually came true.
Thus, the traditional belief of the
maneki neko began.
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