Die Winkekatzen von Hiroshima - 14

5c, The temple cat: This similar story goes that a wealthy feudal lord named Ii Naotaka was taking shelter under a tree near Gōtoku-ji temple (in Setagaya, Tokyo) during a thunderstorm. The lord saw the temple priest's cat beckoning to him and followed; a moment later the tree was struck by lightning. The wealthy man became friends with the poor priest and the temple became prosperous. When the cat died, supposedly the first maneki-neko was made in his honor.

5d, The beheaded cat: A young woman named Usugumo, living in Yoshiwara in eastern Tokyo, had a cat, much beloved by her. One day, she had a visit from her friend, a swordsman. The cat suddenly went frantic, clawing at the woman's kimono persistently. Thinking the cat was attacking her, the swordsman severed the head of the cat, which flew through the air, then lodged its teeth into and killed a venomous snake on the support boards above, where it had been waiting to strike the woman. After the incident, Usugumo was devastated by the death of her companion, and would neither eat nor sleep. The swordsman felt guilty for what he had done and sad for the woman. He went to a woodcarver, who was called "the best in the land", who made him a carving of the cat, a paw raised in greeting. This cat image then became popular as the maneki-neko. When he gave the carving to her, she was overjoyed and lived her life again instead of suffering. A variant has the woman as a geisha, the swordsman replaced with her okiya's (geisha house's) owner, and the wooden cat made by a client of the courtesan lady.

5e, The old woman's cat: An old woman, living in Imado in eastern Tokyo, was forced to sell her cat due to extreme poverty. Soon afterwards the cat appeared to her in a dream. The cat told her to make its image in clay. She did as instructed, and soon afterward sold the statue. She then made more, and people bought them as well. These maneki-neko were so popular she soon became prosperous and wealthy. (...)