A quick note before I get started: Many of you have reached out about the major earthquake in northern Japan today. Our current location is in the south of Japan (see map), well away from the affected area. And one of the safest places to be during an earthquake and tsunami is at sea. So we are just fine. Thank you for checking on us.

Now. Lucky cats.

Arrived this am in Nagoya, Japan, home of Toyota and Lexus. Was a little worried Ken might try to cash in his tea ceremony credit, and I’d have to endure a history of Toyota day, but I’ve escaped that so far. Knock on wood. 

Ken and I bailed on the ship excursion to a very old castle in favor of Tokoname City, which is where they make the famous maneki-neko (lucky cats) in Japan. It’s also known for its distinct local pottery style. 

Sidebar: Japanese people are having a tough time with my name. Ken, they’ve got. He’s Ken-San. My name presents a structural problem. Japanese is a syllable-based language where almost every consonant must be followed by a vowel, which means there is no combination of Japanese sounds that produces the “rst” in Kirsten. So, I have been renamed Kirusuten-San. 

The Lucky Cats

Tokoname is where Japan makes its famous maneki-neko – the beckoning lucky cats that you have seen on the counter of every Asian restaurant you have ever been to. But know this: they are Japanese in origin, not Chinese. The Japanese are sensitive about this.

The most famous origin story comes from Gōtoku-ji Temple in Tokyo. According to legend, the daimyo (regional ruler), Ii Naotaka, was out hunting when the temple abbot’s cat, Tama, beckoned him to come inside. Moments later, lightning struck the exact spot where he had been standing. Naotaka became a devoted patron of the temple, and Tama has had her own shrine there ever since.

Japan has a proverb: kill a cat and it will haunt your family for seven generations, which is a very specific amount of time. But I like it – look after cats, and they will look after you.

A couple of things worth noting: the cat isn’t waving goodbye. He’s waving toward himself – beckoning good luck to come closer. An important distinction. Also: if he cat is waving with his left hand, he’s beckoning people or customers. If he’s waving with his right hand, he’s inviting wealth and good luck.

My friend, Jen, gave me this solar powered lucky cat from a trip to Japan several years ago. That cat has not stopped beckoning me since.

The City of Tokoname has a massive 12 foot tall beckoning cat perched on a hill overlooking the city. It’s supposed to be good luck to take your picture with him. Check. ✅

The Pottery Situation

The town of Tokoname is one of Japan’s oldest and most celebrated pottery centers, with a ceramic tradition that stretches back nearly a thousand years. Famous for its kyūsu tea pots (unglazed red clay with a side handle) prized by green tea enthusiasts for its precise flow, and the way the porous clay softens and deepens flavor of the tea. On that note, don’t ever wash your kyūsu teapot with soap – just use water. If you use soap, the clay will absorb it and then you will end up with soapy tea.

I swear, the Japanese have more dedicated and very specific tea vessels than I have stemware. And I have a lot of stemware.

I couldn’t decide if I liked the teapot (or would ever use it), so I passed on the it, and bought this beautiful sake set from one of the resident artisans instead. 

Tokoname has some serious old-world charm: narrow lanes lined with towering brick chimneys, weathered kilns, and walls built from discarded ceramic shards and sake bottles. Family workshops are still open and operating. Generations of craft are still very much alive here.

Stumbled onto a pottery class at one of the stores. I asked if I could take a photo – using the international language of pointing to my camera. There was a lot of bowing and gesturing, which I took as a yes. 

On the way out of town, we walked a stretch of road lined with oversized ceramic cat sculptures – a tribute to Tokoname’s twin obsessions – lucky cats and pottery, coexisting cheerfully on a sidewalk. It was completely wonderful.

Tomorrow: Kobe, Japan 🇯🇵