Finally taking my 🐈👗Cat Dress out to the Cat Temple Gotokuji with my Cat lover bestie Mia !!! Wanted to come here forever! Most of the Manekineko dolls are not glued to the wood!! Meaning that some patient monk must be setting them out every day (?) And taking the small ones away in the evening (?) and during taifun and big rains ?? What a tedious work! Also need to mention the Legend of Manekineko, because of her being outside the gate, 3 Samurai got off their 🏇 🏇 🏇 to see her and that’s why the horses got killed by the lightning while waiting and on top of that, the 3 Samurai gave some nice 💴💴💴fortune to the “poor” monk as a thank you for being still alive. Had they not stopped for the stupid cat, the horses would be still alive (since all of them would have been walking and in a different location not the one where the lightning fell 🙄) and they would also have their monies 💴💴🙄Gotokuji is located in the quiet Setagaya Ward of Tokyo, away from the hustle and the bustle of the city. Walk through the narrow residential streets for about 15 to 20 minutes, and you’ll find the temple nestled away from the train tracks and major roads.
A five-minute walk from Miyanosaka Station on the Tokyu Setagaya Line, Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward offers a fun sight for visitors.
By a path leading to the main temple sit a huge number of bright white cat figures placed around a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Many tourists visit just to take photos.
In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat (traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed in—often at the entrance of—shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, laundromats, dry cleaners, salons, and other businesses. Some of the sculptures are electric or battery-powered and have a slow-moving paw beckoning.
Maneki-neko comes in different colors, styles and degrees of ornateness. Common colors are white, black, gold and sometimes red. In addition to ceramic figurines, maneki-neko can be found as keychains, piggy banks, air fresheners, house-plant pots, and miscellaneous ornaments, as well as large statues.
