Tokyo Has a Cat Temple! Check Out Pictures of 10,000 'Lucky Cats' Beckoning Visitors at Japan's Gotokuji Temple
Located in Setagaya district of Tokyo, Gotokuji temple which has 10,000 figurines of white cats, is quite popular among visitors. The felines are known as Lucky cats and have a legend attached to it.
There is a cat temple in Tokyo which is quite popular among visitors. Located in Setagaya district of Tokyo, Gotokuji temple has 10,000 figurines of white cats making it one of the rare sights inside a place of worship. Visiting the lucky cat temple is believed to bring along good luck for worshippers. While the cat temple has been a famous temple among locals, recently Instagrammers have been swarming the place for purrrfect photos. Viral Cat Video Is Inspiring Hilarious Memes, Check ROFL Tweets.
These cat statues cat sit with one paw raised, beckoning people to come to the temple. And social media influencers have been flocking the place for so unique content. The Buddhist temple is filled with cats as it is considered as the birthplace of the maneki-neko or beckoning cat, which is considered a good luck charm. It is believed that during the Edo period, Tama, a cat helped the priest and his servants at Gotokuji Temple from a thunderstorm. The cat had then invited them by a waving gesture, hence all the cats have one paw raised. The priest was treated to tea and later he gave rice in return as a gesture of thanks. Cat Shares Some Fitness Goals While Doing Sit-Ups Underneath a Car! Watch the Cutest Workout Video.
Check Out The Pictures Here:
The place saw a spike in the number of visitors on International Cat Day.
Purrrfect!
Every Cat Lover's Paradise
Tama has been immortalised as a stylised white cat figure. It is considered a symbol of good luck in Japan and across Asian countries. It is generally depicted as sitting on his back legs with one paw raised. People often keep these figurines or different versions of it, in businesses. With the growing number of visitors the cat temple witnesses every year, it is believed that the cats are indeed a sign of luck.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2019 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).