maneki-neko

[mah-ne-kee-ne-koh, -nay-koh]

noun

1. a Japanese good luck statuette of a cat in a sitting position with one paw lifted in greeting or welcome.

Example Sentences

The restaurateur recently launched Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay, in Bishopsgate in central London, featuring the beckoning Japanese cat models called maneki-neko.

From BBC

The maneki-neko figurines are believed by some within Japanese culture to bring good luck and have been a feature in the Lucky Cat restaurants.

From BBC

A mechanical maneki-neko cat, forever waving from a restaurant’s cluttered counter, leads to a stall stuffed with similar cats back at the Chinese wholesaler.

From Los Angeles Times

But once we tumble, we have the quest of the game, which is to go up, treating the Asian-inspired city — good fortune, beckoning cat maneki-neko figurines are a staple in nearly every robot household — as something of a giant cat tree.

From Los Angeles Times

We went to my favorite restaurant, a little Japanese cafe that has a Maneki-neko statue.

From Literature