A calico parent cat forms the ceramic bell, with a smaller kitten strung below it on the same red cord. Both have both paws raised. The white, orange and black three-color pattern is known in Japanese as mike. In common maneki-neko tradition the raised right paw is read as financial luck and the left as welcoming people or customers. This design has both.
Down the front of the bell, in three columns, runs しあわせ こいこい やってこい, roughly "happiness, come this way." The kitten repeats the same mike pattern and the same pose.
Below the kitten the same cord ends in a slatted wood mat, with a red paper label printed 開運招福, a traditional wish for good fortune. A gentle draft moves the mat, and the mat moves the striker inside the bell.
DETAILS
Item: one ceramic cat furin with a parent cat and kitten on a single cord
Brand: Yakushigama (薬師窯)
Material: ceramic, with a wood and paper wind catcher
Parent: 6.5 H × 4.5 W × 4 D cm (2.6 × 1.8 × 1.6 in)
Kitten: 3 H × 2.5 W × 2 D cm (1.2 × 1 × 0.8 in)
Weight: approx. 80 g including box
Pose: both paws raised on both cats
Pattern: mike, the three-color calico marking
Collar: red band with gold-tone dots and a round gold-tone ornament
Inscriptions: しあわせ こいこい やってこい on the bell; 開運招福 on the red label
Cord: one red braided cord, bell to kitten to wind catcher
Wind catcher: slatted wood with a printed paper label
Use: indoors, or outdoors under cover
Packaging: individual box
Hang it indoors near a window, or anywhere sheltered with gentle airflow and room to swing clear of a wall or frame. It suits a housewarming, a new business, or someone who keeps cats.
The coloring is applied by hand, so no two are marked in quite the same places.
CARE
Keep the paper label dry, and bring the chime indoors before rain or strong wind.
Dust with a soft, dry cloth; avoid soaking and abrasive cleaners.
Support the ceramic bell when installing or moving it.
Do not pull on the kitten, the lower cord or the wind catcher.
