Meet my 招き猫. Maneki-neko.
The Maneki-neko—‘beckoning cat’—is more than a figurine behind the till.
In Japanese culture, it’s a talisman, an invitation to wealth. But what does wealth really mean?
Most of my life, I misunderstood money.
In our home, in Japan, money was taboo—greedy, shallow, even dirty.
“Money doesn’t buy happiness” was gospel.
Most of us think that’s kind of true.
Yet we give up our dreams because of money.
We give up ourselves because of it.
I did.
After art school, when the bills came knocking, I stopped deciding from my heart.
I chose fear.
I chose rent over soul.
Quietly, money took over.
My art, my voice, shrank.
I bought things that screamed “I’m doing fine.”
Clothes, furniture, trophies for a life I didn’t even want.
Even as the numbers lined up, the emptiness grew.
Fear felt cheaper than hope.
Money didn’t save me.
It sedated me.
We don’t kill dreams because we’re broke.
We kill them because we’re scared.
Big Cog isn’t here to set you free.
It’s here to keep you chasing.
Hungry enough to buy.
Scared enough to obey.
Enough isn’t a number.
It’s a decision.
I built my new collection from there.
Colors ripped from yen, euros, pounds, dollars—
stories about money, power, identity.
About wrestling with wealth instead of worshipping it.
Money isn’t evil.
It’s just not God.
It’s fuel.
It’s time.
It’s a louder “yes” when it matters.
Maybe the Maneki-neko isn’t waving you toward more.
Maybe she’s calling you home.
- Noe Kuremoto

 White stoneware sculpture

W 30 cm x D 20 cm x H : 62 cm (Approximately )