There are several religious sites in Tokyo ( Sensoji temple , Asakusa shrine , Imado shrine , in the Asakusa neighborhood and Gotokuji temple in Setagaya ward ) that lay claim as the origin place of the Beckoning Cat Statue .
The oldest Beckoning Cat Statue found is the Maru Shime ( 〇 〆 ) type one , that is closest related to Imado ware and the Asakusa neighborhood . The Maru Shime ( 〇 〆 ) has the meaning of reinforcing the idea that Good Fortune will come into one’s life .
Front View of a Maru Shime type statue by Imado Ware Shirai
Back View of a Maru Shime statue by Imado Ware Shirai
Front View of a statue sold at Imado Shrine
Back View of a statue sold at Imado Shrine
There are several stories related to the origin of the Beckoning Cat Statue in the Asakusa neighborhood . Overall these stories involve an old lady whose life fortunes get improved due to the Lucky Cat Statue .
This Blog Post is about Imado shrine . Imado Shrine is dedicated to the Izanagi and Izanami Gods couple that bring good fortune in the matchmaking area . One interesting fact about this shrine is that there are 2 Beckoning Cat Statues ( a white one and a black one ) in the resemblance of the “Natsume Book of Friends” Anime’s character ”Nyanko Sensei” in the shrine's office . Before the first season of this Anime ( July 2008 ) and the second season ( January 2009 ) were aired on TV , some of the production staff of the Anime visited the shrine to pray for the success of the Anime and deposited the statues as offerings to the shrine . Another peculiarity about Imado Shrine are the Beckoning Cat statues sold there . There are some statues that are sold as pairs and not the usual solo ones .
Imado Shrine Main Prayer Hall
Imado Shrine Office
Imado Shrine Office Interior
One of the Beckoning Cat statues sold at Imado Shrine is different from other statues as it represents the deities couple Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto . The cat with the black spots is the male one and the female one is the one without the spots .