There are many legends surrounding the "maneki-neko" (beckoning cat), but the one preserved at Saihoji Temple tells of a pet cat that tried to protect Usugumo Tayu, a courtesan from a giant snake.
　 Apparently, Usugumo Tayu was a real courtesan so famous that she was even depicted in ukiyo-e prints. There's something wonderful about legends that blend reality and fantasy like this, isn't there?
　 I went to see this maneki-neko at Saihoji Temple, located on the outskirts of Sugamo, famous (lol) as "the Harajuku for grandmothers."　(Nihedon @ KesaranPasaran Lab)

The legend of the "Beckoning Cat" raising its "Left paw"

One day, when a courtesan was about to go to the latrine (basically the toilet), her pet cat grabbed onto the hem of her kimono and wouldn't let go. The cat's expression was apparently so terrifying that the courtesan cried out for help.

A man who heard her cry rushed over, immediately drew his short sword, and cut off the cat's head.

The severed head then flew beneath the latrine and latched onto a "giant snake" that was lurking there, about to pounce on the courtesan. The snake bit and killed it. In other words, the cat was holding onto the courtesan's hem, essentially saying, "Don't go that way, there's a snake there!"

Realizing this, the courtesan deeply regretted killing the cat that had tried to save her. That's why she built a cat shrine at this Seih?ji temple and enshrined a statue of a beckoning cat.

About Usugumo Tayu

It seems that Usugumo Tayu, who was saved by a cat, was a real person who lived during the Genroku era (1688-1704).

She was a courtesan from Sakaki-machi, Nagano Prefecture, and worked at the Miuraya in Kyomachi 1-chome, Shin-Yoshiwara, Edo. She was a very famous courtesan, considered one of the best of her time, alongside Takao, and it seems she truly loved cats.

The name Usugumo Tayu seems to have been passed down through several generations, but there is a theory that the person enshrined at Saihoji Temple is the second Usugumo Tayu.

There are also many ukiyo-e prints depicting this Usugumo Tayu with her pet cat named "Tama," and you can find some of them by searching online.

At first, I thought Yoshiwara and Nishisugamo, where Saihoji Temple is located, were quite far apart. Upon investigation, it seems that Saihoji Temple was originally located in Asakusa Sh?ten-ch? and moved to its current location in 1891 (Meiji 24). That makes sense.