Tanuki
On last my trip to Japan we saw these funny little statues:
We ran into a small handful of them while traipsing through Shibu and once seen they could not be unseen. As we continued through to Kyoto and beyond, I saw them everywhere: on the streets, in temples, inside shops, on peoples' stoops... And in all shapes and sizes: tall, short, plain pottery, glazed enamel, boy, girl, ninja...
After the 17th sighting I had to find out what the deal was, so I googled "japan raccoon dog statues." Apparently "raccoon dog" was not too bad a guess, because that's the description used on Wikipedia. They are called tanuki, and the statues in particular are rendered with common traits that represent good fortune.
This turned into a bit of a sidequest for the trip: I had to take one home. We made it a point to stop by any store that could sell me a substantial (i.e. not thumb-sized) tanuki that could still fit into my carry-on. Notably, there was one shop in Higashiyama in Kyoto that sold nothing but Tanuki statues. Unfortunately for us, the owner was on vacation and would not return until after our departure... So all I could do was stare through closed gates.
Eventually I found the perfect one at a pottery shop in Nara.
Some bag tetris + one long flight later, it now sits on my desk and oversees my work.
PS: Wroclaw Dwarfs have kind of the same energy.