But what is the deal with these little felines? Why would you get a cat to welcome people? How come some of them are holding yellow kanji flashcards? And no matter how you look at it, those cats are definitely waving, not beckoning, right? For the answers to these questions and more, we’ll begin with the humble origins of the maneki-neko. Hang on to your cat; we’re travelling back to the Edo era.

Origins of Maneki-neko

In 1633, a daimyo by the name of Ii Naotaka was out and about, doing the sorts of things daimyos did back then. On his way home, he was caught in a rainstorm and sought shelter under a tree. Nearby was an old, rundown shrine, whose owner had a pet cat. Naotaka noticed the cat beckoning him over to the shrine. He figured whatever a cat had to tell him was important enough to risk getting a little wet, and hurried on over to the temple.

Then, as if on cue, Naotaka’s former shelter of a tree exploded into a twisted mess of splinters and post-lightning fire. Shocked that the cat had just saved him from getting a much larger shocking, Naotaka decided to return the favor, making sure the temple, and its beckoning cat, never had to worry about money again. The temple was renamed Gotokuji Temple after Naotaka’s posthumous Buddhist name, and is, to this day, filled with beckoning cat statues. The tradition of maneki-neko was born.

Another legend tells of a cat loving geisha by the name of Usugumo. One night, her beloved pet cat began to pull at her clothes. Usugumo tried and failed to get the cat to stop and, not wanting it to claw up her fancy kimono, called for help. The owner of the establishment misunderstood, and thought that the cat was possessed. He pulled out his sword and quickly cut off the head of the cat. The cat’s head went flying through the air and, in one last act of loyalty, bit and killed a snake about to attack Usugumo.

Realizing that the cat was trying to warn her about the snake, Usugumo became depressed over the loss of her pint sized protector. To cheer her up, a customer created a wooden statue of her cat, with a paw raised in warning. And the tradition of maneki-neko was born. Again.

A third legend tells of an old woman and her pet cat. The old woman was very poor and, without any daimyos around to save from lightning, was forced to sell her cat. The cat later comes to her in a dream and instructs her to create a clay model of it. The old woman follows the cat’s slightly egotistical advice, and finds that someone wants to buy it. She creates more statues, which become extremely popular, turning her cats into cash. And, for the third time this article, the tradition of maneki-neko was born.

Yes, But What Does It All Mean?

But wait, a cat with its paw up doesn’t look like its beckoning, right? Well, that depends where you live. In Japan, the gesture is reversed, with the fingers downward (as demonstrated by Koichi in this video). There are also westernized maneki-neko with the paw facing the opposite direction, mimicking the western style of beckoning. These maneki-neko are sometimes depicted with coins with dollar signs on them, earning them the name “dollar cats.”

Of course, if western maneki-neko are holding western money, it only makes sense that the classic maneki-neko of the east are holding classic money of the east. Many maneki-neko are seen holding a ryo, an old form of currency from the Edo era that was worth quite a bit of money. Additionally, many of the ryo that maneki-neko are labeled 千万両, meaning “ten million ryo”. Then again, since 千万 can also mean “a great many”, it’s possible that these maneki-neko simply cannot count particularly high.

The maneki-neko is said to be beckoning for different things, depending on which paw it’s using. A maneki-neko with its left paw up is inviting people, while one with its right paw is inviting money. Although, if you’re a shopkeeper, you probably want people to come to your store and buy things, so you may want one of each. Or, better yet, one with both paws raised.

Now, if something as little as which paw is up has meaning, it’s reasonable to expect color to play a big part, too. Yes, just like how the color of candy tells you its flavor, the color of a maneki-neko tells you what that cat’s talent is.

The classic calico design is the most popular, and brings its owner fortune. Likewise, an all-white cat is also for luck. A black maneki-neko is useful for warding off disease and evil. A gold maneki-neko performs as you may expect, and brings in the money. A red one is used for both protection from disease and demons, and bringing its owner good health. Pink is used for inviting love. There are other various colors, such as yellow or green, that are sometimes linked to feng shui.

So, have you had any experiences with maneki-neko? Have you seen any strange or rare ones? Do you own a maneki-neko? Personally, I have a little one that sits by my computer. It doesn’t bring luck or money or anything, but I’ve never been attacked by any snakes while it’s around, and that’s gotta count for something.

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So, for now I’ll just have to share with you my love for Japanese dogs via the internets. Yes there will be some puppies. Hopefully in the future I can grace you with real life puppy videos after I retire and become a Shikoku Inu breeder / tea farmer.

The Japanese Dog Breeds Map

Native Japanese dogs are “Spitz” type dogs, meaning they tend to have thick fur, pointed ears, and muzzles. Their tails are also curled like a little spring. In Japan, many of the native dog breeds are named after the area in which they came from. For example, the Hokkaido-inu is from Hokkaido. The Shikoku-inu is from Shikoku. The Shiba-inu (perhaps Japan’s most well known dog thanks to the Shiba-inu cam) isn’t really from anywhere in particular, but it’s still very cute.

This little map should give you a little bit of an idea of where these dogs came from. Let’s look at them a little more closely.

Native Japanese Dog Breeds

Japanese dog breeds are some of the most ancient in the world. If you want an “old world” dog, most of the native Japanese dog breeds will do the trick. Have you noticed how many of them look pretty wolfy? That’s a pretty good sign in terms of how old the breed is, I’m guessing.

Shiba-Inu

Almost certainly the most well known Japanese dog.  You may know of this type of dog from the Shiba-inu puppy cam that took the world by storm.

They’re a medium sized dog, have a thick double coat, and has pointed ears with a curly tail (it’s a spitz, after all). They’re one of the  oldest dog breeds, so they tend to be harder to control and don’t do great with children and other dogs without good training. Also, they’re fairly independent and are also known to enjoy running away.

Still, they’re particularly nice dogs and keep themselves nice and clean. I wouldn’t mind having a Shiba-inu if Shikoku-inus and Akita-inus didn’t exist.

Akita-Inu

There are several different types of Akita-Inu, including a fairly distinct looking American Akita breed. It has the traits of the Spitz breed, but is one of the larger Spitz dogs. They actually almost went extinct during WWII when soldiers would kill them for their warm coats. An interesting book on this subject is “Dog Man.” It’s about the guy who brought the Akita back from near-extinction. Also, this was the dog in “Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale” starring Japan’s favorite actor of all time, Richard Gere.

The Akita is a combination of dignity, courage, alertness, and devotion. It is however fairly territorial and may not be good with strangers. That being said, it’s also known for “having an affinity for children, just as retrievers have an affinity with sticks and balls,” so, uh, I guess just make sure you don’t toss your child across a field when an Akita is around.

Just like a Shiba, they’re also very clean even licking themselves and cleaning their face after eating, making them my ideal dog.

Hokkaido Ken

Photo by Yukun615

This is a medium sized dog, kind of like a Shiba-inu. It is known for loving its owner, bravery, and its thick coat (it is from Hokkaido after all). Most unusually, it is able to fight the Hokkaido Brown Bear by attacking the bear’s back, holding on to the bear’s neck until the bear runs off. It’s also a good hunter so… not a great farm dog if you want your chickens to stay alive.

Oh, and if you’re wondering where you may have seen this dog before, maybe it’s from reading about these Softbank commercials?

Kai-Ken

Photo by Yamabouzu

The Kai-ken is an interesting breed. It’s a medium sized dog  with a harsh feeling coat. It’s known for its tiger-stripe fur. They’re definitely very wild looking. They’re intelligent, agile, alert, and brave. They’re hunters and guard dogs, and do well with their owners but are reserved around strangers without good training.

Shikoku Inu

Photo by Elektra96

A little bigger than a Shiba, more wolfy, and from the Shikoku area of Japan. The thing that differentiates this breed from Shiba-inus is that they’re a lot less aloof and a lot more alert to what’s going on. That’s pretty much the reason why I like these dogs the most, though they’re harder to come by. They’re loyal, cautious, brave, and are known to chase wild boars for fun. They’re good for more active people since they need to run a lot, so don’t get one and let it sit around in your apartment all day long.

Kishu Inu

The Kishu-inu is usually white, has a thick coat, and is a one person / family kind of dog (aka they’re super loyal). They’re good hunters and like to chase prey, but will usually do fine with other dogs if socialized properly. Because of all these things, you’ll want to be an active owner if you own one of these dogs. They need to runnnn.

“Imported Into Japan” Breeds

There are a number of breeds that are considered “Japanese” but were obviously imported. You can tell because they’re as not awesome anymore.

Japanese Chin

Ugh, here’s where my dogism shines through. This dumb looking dog is small, has long hair, and is supposedly pretty calm despite being a tiny dog. They were originally brought over from China though Japan created their own distinct version of the breed. Noble houses would keep this breed as a companion / house pet, as it had no actual useful function beyond this. Seriously, though. What a derp-fest that face is.

Japanese Spitz

The Japanese Spitz is a fluffy small to medium sized Spitz breed dog that was developed in the 1920s by mixing various spitz dogs together. They’re active, loyal, and fairly smart. They’re good with children, too. One thing that makes them stand out is their longevity. These dogs live 10-16 years, making them one of the longest living dog breeds.

Japanese Terrier

The Japanese Terrier is a small dog that’s “lively and cheerful” in character… aka, it’s probably yappy and annoying. They were brought over via Dutch merchant ships in Nagasaki. They became popular lap dogs in their time, though now they’re a fairly rare breed in Japan.

Tosa Inu

Some would call this a Japanese breed, though it’s a bit in between. It’s a mix between the Shikoku-inu and European dog breeds (such as the Old English Bulldog, Mastif, St. Bernard, German Pointer, Great Dane, and Bull Terrier. So, there’s many different kinds and they don’t look like Native Japanese dogs, though they are half. This breed is somewhat known to be a “dangerous dog,” though I’m sure with proper raising it’s just as nice as every other dog everyone’s afraid of. It was also raised to be in dog fights back in the day, so, well, yeah, that.

Sakhalin Husky

Not sure if this is really a Japanese dog or not, but it is related to the Akita inu. They were used in the ill-fated 1958 Japanese Antarctic research expedition. The dogs were left behind due to the researchers thinking a relief team would come to save them, but no relief team ever came. These dogs are very rare in Japan right now, probably because they were all left in Antarctica.

Getting A Japanese Dog

No matter what the breed it’s definitely harder than easier to get one outside of Japan. The Shiba-inu is probably the most  common outside of Japan, but everything else is somewhat rare. Akitas and Shikoku-inus aren’t impossible to find, but then you run into the Kai-ken and Hokkaido Inu, which are really really tough to find. If you look around you’ll find breeders for a lot of these dogs, but just be prepared to travel a few hours to get to them unless you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky you won’t find any breeders at all. Some of these dogs are Japan-only because they’re “national treasures.”

Importing a Japanese dog from Japan has its own challenges as well. You’ll have your work cut out for you in terms of finding a breeder first of all willing to export their dog overseas, let alone to someone who’s not Japanese. They’re Japanese dogs so many Japanese breeders want to keep them in Japan. The dogs are so rare already.

No matter what you do be prepared to pay up the nose. The most common type of Japanese dog, the Shiba, is probably the cheapest. Still, that will run you ~$1000+. It basically goes up from there. Shikoku-inus will run you a couple thousand. And, if you’re planning to import from Japan be prepared to pay an extra $1000+ to get them shipped. Even if you do it yourself via the airline it’s a few hundred dollars, and there are many hoops around this you’ll have to jump through.

So, basically it’s really hard to import. It’s also hard to find many of these breeds in your own country. It’s not impossible, but if you want a Japanese dog be prepared to spend a lot of money and run into a lot of obstacles.

Any of you have native Japanese breed dogs? I’m guessing it’ll be Shibas and Akitas all around, but would be really interested to hear if anyone has any of the other types of dogs out there. Please don’t tell me you have a Japanese Chin, though. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy please…

P.S. Did you notice the “inu” and “ken” thing after each dog’s name? They’re both readings of the kanji for dog: 犬. The kun’yomi reading is いぬ (inu), and the on’yomi reading is けん (ken). Sometimes they can be switched and that’s okay, so you’ll see DOG+ken and DOG+inu a lot. Just know that if you see either it probably has to do with dogs, not Ken dolls.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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Nowadays just about every phone is also a camera and a camcorder, so keeping a record of your latest catch is a trivial matter – and of course you’d want to, if only to avoid having to insist “I swear it was this big!” to disbelieving friends and family. But way back in the day there was no such technology available, so the Japanese had to get creative – and lo, gyotaku was born.

The oldest known gyotaku print is that of a carp, and is from 1839.

Gyotaku (魚拓) or “fish rubbing” dates back to at least the Tempou era, and is still in practice today. Gyotaku prints are appreciated as works of art, but have a practical aspect too: many fishing contests in Japan are still decided by gyotaku prints because photographs do not always express the true size of a catch.

The two main variants, namely the direct and indirect methods, both use inks to transfer the likeness of the fish to a sheet of paper or cloth. Finer details like the eyes are painted or drawn in by hand later. The following video demonstrates the direct method by Naoki Hayashi:

Mineo Yamamoto has been a gyotaku artist since 1973, and a great proponent of the indirect method. In the following video, where he instructs a student in the making of a gyotaku print, ink is dabbed onto the paper or cloth instead of being painted directly onto the fish:

As you might have guessed, a skilled gyotaku artist can produce incredibly detailed and lifelike images, especially if colored inks are used. Here are just a few examples I found on the interwebs:

Caught something that wasn’t quite a fish? No problem!

Hmm… I wonder what else we could gyotaku-fy…

So, has anyone tried gyotaku before? If you don’t fish, do you have a particularly docile cat or dog willing to stand in? Let us know in the comments!

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Japan zoo says missing squirrel numbers no mystery: After a typhoon damaged a squirrel enclosure in a Tokyo zoo and the animals escaped, zoo keepers were concerned about getting all of the animals home safe and sound. Fortunately, that hasn’t proven a problem; more squirrels have returned to the zoo than zoo officials thought were lost in the first place. Let’s just say that rabbits aren’t the only ones who are good at multiplying.[via News On Japan][/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]Tokyo, Osaka ‘could share urban functions’: Controversial Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara is notorious for placing his foot squarely in his mouth, and this week the Honorable Ishihara declared that Tokyo and Osaka, two of Japan’s biggest cities, should just, y’know, merge together. I’m sure it’s an easy, practical thing to do. [via Reddit]

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Giant panda Shin Shin gives birth at Ueno Zoo; first cub born in 24 years: Sometime’s I think that it’s a miracle that pandas haven’t gone extinct yet. Not that I have anything against pandas (who could hate pandas), but they just seem like the most ill-equipped animals for survival ever. They have few natural defenses, a sweet disposition, and just don’t really like reproducing. How did they make it this long? [via Reddit][/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]Photos: Thousands Protest Nuclear Restart: Although Japan had a few weeks of being completely nuclear-free, on Sunday Japan restarted the Oi nuclear reactor in Fukui. It didn’t happen quietly though — thousands of protestors gathered outside of the Prime Minister’s house to say that they didn’t want any more nuclear power in Japan. It’s a battle that should continue to play out in the months and years to come.

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Header photo by tomosuke214

Pankun & James

The thing that’s so entertaining about this pair is that one their TV shows they are often having to do “human” tasks. While it’s pretty cool that a chimp can do a lot of these things, it gets better when Pankun has to take care of his bulldog buddy. For example, in this video Pankun and James go to a firestation to become firefighters. I for one would trust him with my life.

Pankun always seems to be pretty good at the physical challenges. In this one he goes to a school and does sit ups. James is lazy though. James can’t do any.

But, they don’t always give Pankun easy tasks. In this video, they make him cook udon. I feel like someone switched out his udon with someone else’s. If not, then this chimp can cook better than me.

But how’s Pankun’s memory? What would happen if you told him to go get a cake? Let’s find out what happens.

Sadly for us audience members, sometimes Pankun goes it sans his lazy bulldog friend. Obviously, though, he’s the star of the show. You couldn’t have a James-only spinoff because James basically just lays around most of every episode. Of course, even when Pankun goes it alone it is also quite entertaining. Usually this just means more human-Pankun interaction.

So, the question is… how smart is he? Does he understand magic?

If you thought Pankun was about to go into monkey-strength mode and tear that magicians face off three or four times, be sure to let me know in the comments. I know I can’t be the only one suspicious of supposedly “humanized” chimps… Don’t trust ‘em. I mean, they can’t even draw properly.

Pankun was born in 2001, which means he’s 11 years old right now. In captivity, chimps can live around 60 years. Perhaps we’ll be seeing more of Pankun in the future. Currently (if you want to see Pankun in person) he is doing shows at the Cuddly Dominion in Kyushu. Have you seen him before? What’s the show like?

So what do you think? Is Pankun a genius? Will he become the iron fisted monkey ruler of our future? I kind of hope so. With that, I’ll leave you with Pankun riding on a segway. You’re welcome.

♪ Chimpanzee riding on a segwayyy ♫

Perhaps it’s climate change. Perhaps it was the particularly hot summer and the lack of acorns. Perhaps it’s because of habitat loss… who knows. All I know is Japanese bear attacks have hit a sharp rise, and that’s no good.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-PpMBxvtg']

Between April and September, 80 people were hurt and four people got killed by bears. On top of that, they’ve had to shoot a lot more bears, because they’re coming into towns, cities, and so on. I’m guessing most of the bears are up in the northern island of Hokkaido (they’re known for bears), but this is still a bit scary for someone like me who has an irrational fear of bears and will be traveling all over Japan next month for TofuguTV.

Watch the video if you want to learn less than you just learned. Basically, I’m just worried about bears. Besides the technique provided in the video, how do you defend yourself against bears? Any tips? Remember, Japanese bears are smaller, several times more efficient, and possibly wearing mech suits. Totally changes everything.

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