New · Made in Ishikawa, Japan · For a new home or a long trip
Kutani porcelain · black glaze with sakura · 11 cm · paper box
Kutani Praying Cat, Black with Cherry Blossoms
A small cat with its paws pressed together, glazed black and painted with red cherry blossoms.
$189 Free shipping to 32 countries
Order by December 8 to make sure it arrives before Christmas.
We ship to mainland China: free, tracked. Import duties, if any, are paid on delivery. Where we ship
Colour: Black with Cherry Blossoms · For a new home or a long trip
A gift for a new home · luck and protection
Leaves Fukuoka within one week by EMS, with tracking.
The story: Maneki-nekoWatch the 47-second film, or read it →What buyers say · ★★★★★ on Etsy
“Received updates regarding the item I purchased and when it arrived could tell that it was packed with care; my fragile ceramic bunny arrived in perfect condition! A wonderful purchase and I would buy from this shop again”
Jessica · United States
1 more from buyers
“Item was as described and in photos shown. Excellent quality. Seller very knowledgable and took the time to explain everything”
Tiang N. · Australia
- Made in Japan. Kutani ware, from Ishikawa prefecture.
- New, never used. Checked and packed by hand in Fukuoka.
- Returns within 14 days of delivery. Not right? Send it back as it came and we refund the full price, return postage included.
- Packed safely, sent by EMS within one week, fully insured, with tracking.
Duties, checkout and extras
- ★ 5.0 on Etsy · Star Seller. Read the reviews ↗
- Import tax. It depends on your country; if any is due, it is collected on delivery.
- US import duties. Already included in the price: nothing to pay at your door.
- Secure checkout by Stripe — cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay. No account needed.
- Two pieces, one parcel. Each extra piece in the same order is $15 off at checkout.
- Orders of $200 or more travel with a gift to keep: Japanese chopsticks with a rest in a paulownia box, or a Nara kaya-cloth handkerchief.
The story
A black cat holds a different kind of watch. Most lucky cats wave to bring people in. This one has put its paws together, the way people do at a shrine before they ask for something: oinori-neko, the praying cat.
The meaning
Black is traditionally the colour of protection. A black maneki-neko is said to ward off evil and bad luck. It suits a threshold: the first night in a new house, a child leaving for a distant city, a shop door that has just opened. Give it to someone who is about to go somewhere you cannot follow.
The craft
The black glaze is the stage and the blossoms are the performance. Red cherry flowers are painted on the dark surface by hand, and on black every stroke shows. A steady brush matters more here than anywhere. The pale centres, the way a petal curls, the spacing between the blossoms: all of it varies a little from cat to cat. The one you receive will resemble the photos, but it is its own cat. Made in Ishikawa, in the Kutani tradition.
Living with it
About 11 cm tall, it fits on a shelf by the front door. It is the cat you leave looking out while you are away.
How it comes
In a paper box, wrapped carefully and sent from Fukuoka. If someone you love is leaving soon, you might send this story along with them.
How it travels
Packed safely, insured in full
Every piece is packed by hand in Fukuoka inside a sturdy 3 mm corrugated carton, cushioned all round with air pillows so it cannot move. It travels with tracking all the way to your door: by EMS, insured for its full value, on orders of $100 or more, and by tracked airmail below that.
More Maneki-neko on the shelf · 8 →
A question about this piece — size, marks, condition? Ask the house, we answer within a day.