There are some survivals of the Second World War even today and actually you can see one of them in Hachioji City, Tokyo. It is a big beckoning cat (Maneki-neko) displayed in a local shop near Hachioji Station.
It is called “Beckoning Cat Having Great Luck”, although beckoning cat is originally a traditional lucky charm to invite luck to people, because it survived the Hachioji Air Raid in 1945. Apparently about 80% of buildings in Hachioji were damaged by the air raid, but the cat figurine wasn’t destroyed though it got some burns.
Since some time people started to put monetary offerings in front of it and now an offertory box is placed there. There is also a notice that tells the shop owner recently donated the money to the Medecins Sans Frontieres with his prayer for peace.
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