The Maneki neko is a very popular japanese sculpture, made of porcelain, glas, plastic or ceramic and people think it brings good luck. Literally Maneki neko means ” cat that calls you” or ” cat of luck” and it represents a cat that calls or welcomes someone with a gesture of the left paw up. In Japan it’s usually exposed out of the shops and restaurants because it attracts money and customers.
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The origins of the traditional Kokeshi date back 400 years ago in the North-east of Japan, precisely in a territory called Tohoku.
They were little dolls made of wood and sold as a souvenir, during the Winter, to the tourists who visited the area.
The tourists took them home to their children because playing with kokeshi had positive influences, infact they were made to wish for a good harvest or to impress positively divinities.
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The Daruma doll represents Bodhidharma, founder and first patriarch of Zen. The most common colour of this doll is red because red was the cloak that the patriarch wore. The doll has a man stylised face with beard and mustache but the eyes are white circles. Using a black ink, you need to draw just one eye and you can express a desire; if the desire will come true, also the second eye can be drawn.
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The lotus symbolizes the awakening, the life, it is the connection between sky and earth but it is also a symbol of beauty and purity and it’s usually illustrated together with a koi carp.
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They are evil spirits with big horns like satana but in the modern culture they usually have not only a bad meaning infact they could be also benevolent protectors.
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The tiger merge the japanese culture with the chinese one, infact in both culture it represents strength, courage and longevity.
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The koi carp is not only a decoration for the well-knows japanese gardens but also it’s a symbol of good omen and in case of a birth it represents a signal of good luck for the destiny of the child.
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