What is the story behind the white cat with it's left paw raised? I only see them in Asian establishments?

Question

I had a friend that said he only remembers a childhood story about it being good luck, but doesn't know any details. Can you tell me the story?

Answer 1

It's a Maneki Neko.  Info here:

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ma...

Answer 2

It's Maneki Neko!!!

Here you go (the story):

http://www.luckfactory.com/manekineko1.h...

Answer 3

The Maneki Neko, legend says, gave good luck to an aristocrat. The wealthy man saw it in a temple while he was hiding under a tree during a storm. Becoming curious, the man walked into the temple the cat was in. Right when he left, a bolt of lightning hit the tree he was sitting under. The cat's paw is raised as if it's waving, a sign of when the nobleman was drawn toward the cat during the journey.

The cat was owned by a poor temple priest who named it "Tama". Maneki Neko means "Beckoning Cat".

Hope this helped!

Answer 4

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ma...

The Maneki Neko (literally "beckoning cat") is one of the most common lucky charms in Japan. Found frequently in shop windows, the Maneki Neko sits with its paw raised and bent, as if beckoning customers to enter. There are countless superstitions about cats in Japan (as there are in many other nations). Some Japanese believe that when a cat washes its face and paws in the genkan (parlor), company's coming. This belief may be a "Japanized" version of the 9th-century Chinese proverb: "If a cat washes its face and ears, it will rain." This may sound far fetched, but many other nations hold equally curious beliefs in the soothsayer magic of the feline.