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A seated cat figurine with one paw raised in a beckoning gesture.
Also known as: Beckoning cat, Lucky cat, Fortune cat, Welcoming cat
The Japanese beckoning cat, raised paw held palm-out at the ear. Which paw is raised is meaningful, and the gesture reads as beckoning in Japan and as waving to many Western viewers — a genuine cross-cultural misreading built into the object.
A figurine of a seated cat with one forepaw raised, displayed in shops, restaurants and homes in Japan and widely across East and Southeast Asia to attract customers and good fortune.
Japan
Which paw is raised carries meaning in the tradition: the left is commonly said to beckon customers and the right to beckon money, though the distinction is not applied consistently.
Widely stated and inconsistently applied.
The raised paw is a Japanese beckoning gesture — palm outward, fingers folding downward — which many Western viewers read as waving, because the beckoning gesture in much of Europe and the Americas turns the palm the other way.
Frequently assumed to be Chinese because of where it is most often encountered outside Japan. The origin is Japanese, with Edo-period Tokyo temple traditions among the competing origin stories.
A seated cat figure seen from the front with one forepaw raised beside its head, palm facing outward, usually wearing a collar with a bell and holding a coin.