The significance of the cherry blossom tree and the lucky cat in Japanese culture goes back hundreds of years. The cherry blossom represents fragility and beauty. Each year the brilliant cherry blossom trees bloom briefly reminding us that life is overwhelmingly beautiful and tragically short. Today in Tokyo, there is a temple known as Goutokuji, which is dedicated to cats. Legend has it that Goutokuji, is protected by Maneki-neko, a folklore cat. The legend of Maneki-neko can be traced back to when the Goutokuji was a Buddhist monastery. The monastery was low on money and food, as the story goes. The monks at the temple always made sure that their cat named Tama always had food. One day the Lord of Hikone, Naotaka Ii, was passing the monastery when he noticed Tama, who was sitting at the front of the monastery, beckoning him. Naotaka followed the cat in to the temple and immediately a bolt of lightening struck the place where he had been standing. The cat saved the Lord of Hikone and in return Naotaka rescued the monastery from poverty. The monastery was renamed Goutokuji. All images are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced, downloaded, distributed, transmitted, copied, reproduced in derivative works, displayed, published or broadcast by any means or in any form without prior written consent from the artist. Copyright Matthew Schwartz 2014