Well, I came up with #ThursdayThoughts.
Let's start my blog and talk sbout small but curios things.
My first thing is “Manekineko”. Manekineko is a figure of a cat with one paw raised for good luck.
Please take a look.
Do you see this statue as a cat? You will see the beckoning cat with its left paw raised in front of its body, with the wish of "beckoning everybody". A typical beckoning cat raises its right paw, but it raises its opposite paw.
This small unglazed earthenware could be described as Japanese folk art rather than a realistic ceramic work. It's just over an inch. Eyes and nose are small dots. The mouth is drawn as a mark of ^ and the beard is drawn with a quick swing of sharp brush. It wears Kamishimo, the formal attire of Samurai around the 15th century. The creator must have a wish.
This beckoning cat is the gift of Nanshin-Sha. This is a divine messenger from Nanshin-Sha shrine in Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka City.
On the other hand, the enshrined deity of Nanshin-Sha is “Uganomitama no Mikoto”, the god of Inari, so the ideal messenger is a fox not a cat. “Uganomitama no Mikoto” is one of the gods in Japanese mythology. There are many gods in Japanese mythology, just like in Greek mythology. There are many people around the world who fantasize about mystical things, whether it be Norse mythology or Greek mythology. The sensibility to feel sacred things in Sun, animals, and fairies made of them is human-like.
Therefore, it should be associated with a beckoning cat, and by making it a white one, it is also associated with a white tiger of Felidae, and the original fox element also remains. It's a little complicated for you. In other words, it is a imaginary creature that looks like more cat, a fox, and a white tiger. I guess the creator made it as a spiritual and mysterious beckoning cat. I took this first image with the aperture wide open in the shade just off the window. If you can see this picture as if it's inviting you, it would be my pleasure to take it. No matter what the shrine says to me, I see the statue with its left paw raised looks more like a cat than a fox.
It has a partner.
The second one is a beckoning cat with its right paw raised, wishing to "Make money". There are people in Japan who believe that Inari of fox will bring good luck with money. So, the cat raising its right paw seems to me to be made with more fox elements. In other words, it is a imaginary creature that looks like more fox, a cat, and a white tiger. I took the second photo with a slightly tinny aperture. I would be happy if you could see a beckoning cat with ambitions to make good money by a neat rich fox element.
There are rules about when these cats can be purchased.
A beckoning cat with its left paw raised available to purchase month:
January, March, May, July, September, November
A beckoning cat with its right paw raised available to purchase month:
February・April・June・August・October・December
If you want to see these beckoning cats, please visit Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Osaka, Japan. Sumiyoshi Taisha is a Shinto shrine, a place of prayer and wishes. You can see them at the related Nanshin-Sha of this shrine. There you pray for the development of wishes. This beckoning cat can be purchased at Nanshin-Shain Sumiyoshi Taisha, Osaka. Please refer to the following for Sumiyoshi Taisha and Nanshin-Sha.
A few years ago, I visited the shrine twice and got a pair of beckoning cats. I own a pair of maneki-neko with its left paw raised and the one with its right paw raised. Only one pair, so I'm more than just a visitor. The shrine told that a beckoning cat with its left paw raised and its right paw would equally beckoning people and have business development benefits. So you don't have to worry about buying just one.
These beckoning cats suggest not only their own meaning but also the meaning of sustainable growth of the collection. You can purchase a small beckoning cat statue with its left paw raised in odd months and its right paw raised in even months. During those 48 months, you will continue to hope for sustainable growth while interacting with the people you meet.
If it reaches 48 for 4 years in a row, they must be 24 pairs, and then they will be returned to the shrine. If you do so, you will be able to have a medium sized beckoning cat statue as a fulfillment of first Mangan. It's not a finale with a full wish.
Collection reward
Years
4 Exchange 48 small cats for one medium cat
Right paw raised or Left paw raised
8 Exchange 48 small cats for one medium cat
Make a pair of medium cats; left-pawed and right-pawed
12 Exchange 2 medium cats and 48 small cats for one large cat
Right paw raised or Left paw raised
16 Exchange 48 small cats for one medium cat
One large cat plus One medium cat
20 Exchange 48 small cats for opposite pawed medium cat
One large cat plus Two medium cat
24 Exchange 48 small cats plus 2 medium cats for one more large cat
Make a pair of large cats; left-pawed and right-pawed
Even if you visit the shrine every month and get one by one, it will take at least 24 years. You will be rewarded with one pair of giant beckoning Cats as the final fulfillment of Mangan.
On a personal note, Japan suffers from many disasters such as earthquakes, heavy rains, and typhoons. Residents wished to continue to survive. The curious custom may have been invented by the past Japanese, the myth may be fictional, but it brought people together at shrines and made people work hard over the long term, resulting in economic success.
However, it is not the origin of beckoning cat. There are various origins of Japanese beckoning cats, but Imado in Asakusa, Tokyo may be the most probable. There is Imado Shrine, and there are some beckoning cats. I will show you someday.
My blog isn't just about showing pictures, but also expressing my wishes. There is a reason why I chose this beckoning cat as the theme of my first blog. Following the collection of 48 beckoning cats, I will show you at least 48 episodes of the blog. I’d like to pray for the development of wishes among 48 months.
I will show you my pleasures of macro photography in my next blog.
Thank you for coming to my blog.
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