招財貓 (まねきねこ) Maneki Neko
2023
Underglaze, iron and manganese oxide wash, green glaze on stoneware
1230 C
This a large jar in the shape of Maneki Neko, or the Japanese lucky cat. Believe it or not, Maneki Neko is also a yokai, and I wanted to convey its backstory: A long time ago a geisha had a cat, and one day the cat meowed and scratched her leg. The geisha's boss misunderstood and thought the cat was attacking her, so he chopped off the cat's head with his sword. The cat's head flew into the bathroom into the air, biting and killing a venomous snake that in hiding near the geisha. It turns out the poor cat was just trying to protect her owner. The boss then made a statue of the cat in their honor. The statue later became very popular charm for good fortune. This is one of the stories believed to be the origin of the Maneki Neko. In this piece, the maneki neko is biting a snake and the ability to take the cat's head off represents the events in its origin story.
這是招財貓罐。 我想表達這隻妖怪貓的背景故事。 很久以前一位藝妓養了一隻貓，有一天這隻貓喵喵叫著，抓著主人的腿。 藝妓的老闆誤會了，以為是貓在襲擊她，就用劍砍下了貓的頭。 然而，貓的頭從空中飛進了浴室，咬住了一條躲藏的大毒蛇。貓原來只是想保護她的主人。 藝妓的老闆為這隻貓做了一個雕像來紀念牠。 這座雕像後來變得非常受歡迎。 這個故事被認為是招財貓的起源。。