Hikonyan

Hikonyan (ひこにゃん) is a mascot created by the city government of Hikone, Japan.

The character design is derived from a legend concerning maneki-neko and Ii Naotaka, the 3rd Lord of Hikone.

[1][2][3] The daimyō was beckoned by a white cat to seek shelter from a storm in a temple, and thus saved from a lightning strike.

Hikonyan's popularity increased tourist visitation of Hikone by over 200,000 annually.

Total merchandise sales reached about 1.7 billion yen (US$21 million) as of 2008.