Cat on Duty

Mike Goutokuji is a maneki-neko, also known as the Lucky Charm for Prosperous Commerce. Born a calico cat, she was apparently ostracized by her fellow maneki-neko and so wasn't able to train alongside them. As a result, it seems she has a slightly different ability than you might expect.

Maneki-neko have the ability to beckon customers and wealth. However, Mike's ability is imperfect and can only beckon one at a time while preventing the other from gathering. With no one to adopt her and no chance of being placed in a shop window, Mike supposedly escaped to the mountains, where she enjoys a carefree lifestyle.

As it happens, Mike has a knack for salesmanship and choosing products that will sell, making her quite the saleswoman.

A maneki-neko is an ornament made to look like a cat with one paw raised. They're said to bring good fortune and are often found in shop windows in Japan. If the right paw is raised, they grant financial fortune, and if the left paw is raised, they attract customers.

There's a tale from the Buddhist temple, Goutoku-ji, about how cats bring good fortune. According to the tale, a passerby was beckoned into the temple by a white cat, allowing them to escape a thunderstorm. It's said that temple is where maneki-neko first originated.

The maneki-neko design is based on male calico cats, who are said to beckon wealth. In recent years, pink and gold maneki-neko have started to appear. You can't help but wonder what Mike thinks of these new maneki-neko...

The weather outside was pleasant, and Mike was on duty at the shop. There weren't many customers, so she was able to relax in peace. Perhaps her ability was keeping the customers away... Then again, the shop where Mike was working was in Hakurei Shrine, so it's hard to tell. Even still, Mike seemed to enjoy waving over whatever few worshippers stopped by the shrine that day.

Reimu had asked Mike to take care of her shop, but when she got back to the shrine, she was very surprised. All the items in the shop that usually got completely ignored―the omamori, the ofuda, the ema, and even the random objects Reimu put there because she thought looked kind of lucky―were all sold out. It turns out the worshippers Mike beckoned over had bought the lot of them. Maybe it was her salesmanship or her ability to beckon in money that did the trick. Then again, it could've simply been her cheerful and lovable personality.

Who knows, maybe you'll run into her when you're out shopping sometime.