Cats

The Maneki Neko

The maneki-neko is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail, with a paw raised in a beckoning gesture.

"Joruri-machi Hanka no zu," painted in 1852 by Utagawa Hiroshige. This picture depicts the marushime-neko, a variation of maneki-neko, being sold at Sensō-ji Temple, Tokyo.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko

Calico Japanese bobtail cat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Bobtail

I Am Tama, Lucky Cat - picture book by Wendy Henrichs, Yoshiko Jaeggi (Illustrator)

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26396193-i-am-tama-lucky-cat

Cat Legends and Stories

There are various folklore in Japan about the origin of maneki-neko. Several Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines that appear in folklore, such as Gōtoku-ji, Jishōin and Imado Shrine, are known as the birthplaces of the maneki-neko.

Gotoku-ji Temple

The most famous folklore concerns Ii Naotaka during the Kan'ei era (1622-1624) of the Edo period. In the story, Naotaka's party stops at Gōtoku-ji Temple to rest after being beckoned by a cat at the temple gate.

The maneki neko storey

https://www.tofugu.com/japan/maneki-neko/

https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/gotokuji-temple-the-birthplace-of-maneki-neko/729

The Boy Who Drew Cats

The story was first translated into English by Lafcadio Hearn

https://archive.org/details/hearn_lafcadio_1850_1904_japanese_fairy_tales/page/11/mode/1up

Courious Ordinary

https://www.curiousordinary.com/2021/07/boy-who-drew-cats.html?spref=tw&m=1

The Cat's Elopement - The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford

"The Cat's Elopement" is a Japanese fairy tale collected by Professor David Brauns in Japanische Marchen und Sagen (Leipzig, 1885). Andrew Lang had it translated and included in The Pink Fairy Book (1897).

Wikisource

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Pink_Fairy_Book/The_Cat%27s_Elopement

Japan's wildcats

The Tsushima leopard cat is one of Japan’s two wild felids, with the other being the Iriomote cat (prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis). Both are roughly the same size as domesticated felines.