🐱 CULTURE · Japan explained · 2026-07-28

Maneki-neko: what the raised paw and the colours actually mean

Q: What does it mean when a maneki-neko raises its right paw?

A raised right paw is said to call in money, while a raised left paw is said to call in customers. Shops choose whichever matches what they want to attract.

まねきねこのいみ

Same news, rewritten for 6 Japanese school grades — pick your level below. Furigana + translation included.

168 chars · ~3 min · 20 kanji

🐱 CULTURE 日本にほん

Same sentence · 6 levels

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日本にほんのお店みせに行いくと、よくまねきねこが見みえます。

しあわせをまねくといわれるねこのにんぎょうです。

右手みぎてを上あげたねこはお金かね、左手ひだりてを上あげたねこはお客きゃくをよびます。

体からだの色いろにもいみがあり、白しろは幸しあわせ、金色きんいろはお金かねをまねきます。

昔むかし、えどのころに生うまれたといわれます。

今いまでは世界中せかいじゅうの人ひとに有名ゆうめいなねこです。

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Translation

When you visit shops in Japan, you often see the Maneki-neko cat.

It is a cat doll said to beckon happiness toward you.

A cat raising its right paw calls money, and one raising its left paw calls customers.

Its body color also has meaning: white is happiness, and gold calls money.

It is said to have been born long ago, in the Edo period.

Today it is a cat famous among people all over the world.

What does it mean when a maneki-neko raises its right paw?

The maneki-neko is the cat figure you see at the entrance of shops all over Japan, one paw raised high as if beckoning people and good fortune inside.

Which paw is up matters. A cat raising its right paw is said to call in money; one raising its left paw calls in customers. The body colour carries meaning too: white for happiness, gold for money, and red as a charm that keeps illness away.

The figure is said to have been born in the Edo period, and an old story survives of a temple cat whose beckoning saved people from harm. Shopkeepers have treasured the custom of displaying one ever since, wishing for their business to prosper.

Today the maneki-neko is made in every colour and size and is loved far beyond Japan, having become one of the country's most recognisable good-luck charms.

This story is written at six Japanese school-grade levels — read it in real Japanese at your level, with furigana and an English translation.

What do maneki-neko colours mean?

White stands for happiness, gold for money, and red works as a charm that keeps illness away. Modern versions are made in many more colours than the traditional three.

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