What Does Maneki-Neko Mean? The Lucky Cat's Paws, Colors, and Origin Explained

Maneki-neko literally means "beckoning cat" — the raised paw, palm forward with the fingers folding down and back, is the traditional Japanese gesture for "come here," which is exactly why many Westerners misread it as a goodbye wave.

Left paw or right paw?

It's supposed to matter which paw is up. A left paw raised is said to beckon people and customers, which is why it's the paw you'll usually see on a cat sitting at a shop or restaurant entrance. A right paw raised is said to beckon money and good fortune instead, so that version is more often kept at home or next to a cash register. Figurines with both paws raised are sold as "double luck" — money and relationships together — though the pose also resembles a raised-arms surrender gesture, so some regard it as the less auspicious option; which reading wins out really depends on the maker and the shop selling it.

Does the height of the paw matter?

There's also a common folk convention that the higher the paw is raised, the farther-reaching the luck is supposed to be — a paw lifted above ear height is commonly said to call in long-term or far-off fortune, while a lower paw is said to bring quicker, nearer-term luck. This isn't written into any single authoritative text; it's a widely repeated convention rather than a fixed rule.

What do the colors mean?

• White — the original and most common color; general good luck and purity.
• Gold or yellow — wealth and business prosperity, the color you'll see most in shops.
• Black — protection, warding off evil and bad luck.
• Red — associated with either health or romantic fortune, depending on who you ask; both meanings circulate.
• Pink — romance and love specifically.
• Calico (three-colored fur, mikeneko) — considered the luckiest and most traditional pattern, tied to the Japanese Bobtail breed. Japanese sailors reportedly brought calico cats aboard ships in the belief they warded off storms and evil spirits, which is one reason calico became the "classic" maneki-neko coloring.

Why does it hold a coin?

Most maneki-neko hold a koban (小判), the oval gold coin used in the Edo period and historically valued at one ryō — a straightforward symbol of wealth. Interestingly, the cat enshrined at Gōtoku-ji Temple in Tokyo, one of the figures most closely tied to the whole tradition, holds nothing at all in its raised paw — the temple's own explanation is that summoning fortune is itself the gift, not the money.

Where does maneki-neko actually come from?

There's no single confirmed inventor — several competing legends from different eras claim the honor, and none has been proven over the others. The most widely cited is the Gōtoku-ji story: during the Kan'ei era (1622–1624), the lord Ii Naotaka was sheltering near the temple gate when a cat appeared and beckoned him inside; moments after he followed it, lightning struck the spot where he'd been standing. Grateful, the Ii clan became patrons of the temple, which later built a hall to enshrine the cat. Other temples tell different stories — Jishō-in credits a cat that led a lost warlord, the 15th-century commander Ōta Dōkan, to safety before a battle (this version actually predates the Edo period, unlike the other legends here), and Imado Shrine's version involves a poor woman who dreamed her late cat told her to sculpt its likeness in clay, which she then sold at Asakusa. The earliest written record of a maneki-neko is a diary entry in the Edo chronology Bukō nenpyō, dated 1852 — the same year Utagawa Hiroshige made a woodblock print showing a similar cat figure being sold outside Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa.

Is maneki-neko Japanese or Chinese?

It's unambiguously Japanese in origin, but the figure is extremely common in Chinese communities and Chinatowns worldwide, and is frequently mistaken for a Chinese object as a result — it's sometimes even called the "golden cat" in Chinese contexts. The confusion is common enough that it's worth clearing up: whatever legend you believe, every version of the origin story is set in Japan.