The real Maneki Neko

The legend says that 400 years ago Ii Naotaka, the lord of Hikone, was suddenly caught by a rain shower while returning from hunting. He took cover under a tree next to a small temple. After a while, a small white cat appeared in front of the temple, beckoning him to enter. Amazed, the lord moved to the temple, and immediately the tree was struck by lightning.

As gratitude, the lord became the patron of the temple, and after the cat died it was buried in the temple's cemetery and the sculptures with Maneki Neko started to be made, to honor the magic cat. The temple is today's Gotokuji in Setagaya, Tokyo, named after the posthumous Buddhist name of Naotaka. Also, Hikonyan, the mascot of Hikone Castle, was designed based on this legend.