Gotokuji Temple | The Tokyo Shrine of the Beckoning Cat

A twenty-minute drive from Shinjuku, you step into a quiet and peaceful neighborhood. The shrine we're visiting today is said to be the birthplace of the beckoning cat. Legend has it that during the Edo period, a feudal lord in distress was helped by a cat, and out of gratitude, a white cat was enshrined at Gotokuji Temple. The traditional Japanese beckoning cat is differentiated into male and female. The male cat raises its right hand, symbolizing the attraction of wealth and good fortune. The female cat raises its left hand, symbolizing the gathering of good relationships and a bustling crowd. In fact, if you observe carefully, you can see that the 'beckoning cats' enshrined next to the Beckoning Cat Hall are all simple white cats, raising their right hand (beckoning happiness). The shrine sells various sizes of fortune-bringing cats, and people leave these cats at the temple as offerings. Therefore, the temple has accumulated hundreds of 'beckoning cats', which is quite a spectacular sight~