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My favorite place we went on our trip to Japan was Gotokuji temple, known as a home of the Maneki Neko/lucky cat. The grounds are absolutely packed with lucky cat statues (including one we placed ourselves).

Painted this based on one of my photos. I liked the combination of giant and tiny cat statues.

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#maneki neko #lucky cat #cats #japan #watercolor #gotokuji temple

I need to know more about this cat!!

This statue was near Gotokuji Train Station, near the Gotokuji Temple, famous for its white lucky cat statues! If you want to see more of our Japan travels, check out our book Our Super Japanese Adventure which has comics all about our first trip to Japan last year!

#comic #webcomic #japan #japan travel #gotokuji temple #comic strip

Gotokuji temple, Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan 2025

#Japan #japan travel #gotokuji temple #lucky cat temple #lucky cats #temple #cat #cherry blossom

Gotokuji Temple, birthplace of the lucky cat Tokyo, Japan July 2023

#gotokuji temple #tokyo #japan #travel photography

Happy Maneki Neko Day!

Last January I went to 豪徳寺 Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya ward, Tokyo.

It’s know as the birth place of Maneki Neko.

The most popular story about the origin of the cat takes place at the site of the Gotokuji temple in the 17th century when a monk is said to have lived on the site with his pet cat.

A samurai lord named Ii Naotaka is said to have been traveling in the region during a rain storm when he took shelter under a large tree near the temple, only to witness the cat waving to him with one paw from inside.

Curiouser and curiouser, he got closer to investigate the strange cat, when the tree behind him was suddenly completely destroyed by a bolt of lightning. Grateful to the cat for seemingly saving his life, the lord became a patron of the temple and rebuilt the crumbling structure in honor of the lucky feline.