Across Japan and China, good fortune has a whole cast of tiny helpers. They sit on shop counters, desks and windowsills, each with a legend explaining its shape, its colour or the way it holds its paw. Here are the lucky charms currently on our shelves.
Daruma: the monk with no arms
Daruma represents Bodhidharma, the monk credited with bringing Zen to China. Legend says he meditated facing a cave wall for nine years until his arms and legs withered away, which is why Daruma is round and limbless and why he stands for patience and perseverance. Our lacquered Daruma egg has his fierce brows, staring eyes and brushed beard under a deep glossy shine.
The princess who wears red
The hime daruma, or princess daruma, is a folk toy from Dōgo in Matsuyama, home of the famous Dōgo Onsen. Legend links her to Empress Jingū, who is said to have stayed at the hot spring, and to her baby, the future Emperor Ōjin, wrapped in crimson silk. That's why she wears red. Ours is barely bigger than a fingertip and still has an old paper label marked "S 48".
Which paw is the lucky one?
The maneki-neko, or beckoning cat, dates back to Edo-period Japan. Tokyo's Gotokuji Temple tells of a cat at the gate that beckoned a passing lord inside, sparing him from a sudden storm. A raised right paw is said to attract money, a raised left paw invites customers and friends. Our golden solar-powered lucky cat waves all day with no batteries.
A cat for your pay rise
In Chinese communities the lucky cat is the zhāocái māo, the "fortune-beckoning cat", and it often wears a boat-shaped gold ingot once used as money in imperial China. One of this tiny pair has 加薪 on its tummy, meaning "pay rise". The perfect desk companion.
A toast once reserved for emperors
The four characters on these yellow tea cups, 萬壽無疆, mean "boundless longevity". The phrase comes from the ancient Book of Songs, and until the end of imperial China it was reserved for the birthdays of emperors and empresses. Today it is an everyday classic, and a lovely wish to give someone.