A humble toymaker is rewarded for helping an injured cat in this story that explains the origin of the maneki neko, or lucky cat statues that are popular throughout Japan for spreading good fortune.
After the 1783 eruption of Japan's Mount Asama destroys crops in nearby villages, a orphaned blind girl who lives at the Daruma Temple in Takasaki invents a doll representing a famed Buddhist monk and his teachings about resilience
In 1860s Japan, young Norihei saves the life of a kappa, one of the mythological beings who keep the water clean, and the two become friends, but changes brought by the Industrial Revolution force the kappa to leave, only to return when Norihei needs him most. Includes historical and cultural notes