Maneki Neko Tee

招き猫 (maneki-neko): "the beckoning cat."

A Japanese hand that means come here looks, to most Westerners, like a wave goodbye: palm out, fingers flapping down. That's the gesture of the maneki-neko, the cat that sits by the register in shops and restaurants all over Japan. At Gōtoku-ji, a temple in Tokyo's Setagaya ward, thousands of white ones crowd the shelves, left by people giving thanks. The story there is that a temple cat beckoned a 17th-century lord, Ii Naotaka, in from the road just before a storm broke.

On the back, a big white cat raises one paw, grins with its eyes shut and holds 福 (fuku), "good fortune," the same fuku families shout while throwing beans every February to call luck into the house. It sits on a curl of wave. On the chest, a smaller cat winks and lifts its paw, a bell at its collar.

It's the gift for a friend opening a shop, a studio or a first restaurant, since the cat's whole job is waving people in. That raised paw means come here, not goodbye. A koi that turns into a dragon sits nearby in the Japanese graphic tees.

• Fabric: 100% combed cotton, 230gsm, pre-shrunk and soft-washed
• Print: direct-to-garment (DTG)
• Color: black
• Fit: unisex, regular; size up for a boxier, oversized look
• Sizes: S to 3XL
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in wears L; 5 ft 7 in wears M

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.