Japan’s feline stationmaster named a god
Print Edition
TAMA the stationmaster, Japan’s feline star of a struggling local railway, was mourned by company officials and fans and elevated into a goddess at a funeral yesterday.
The calico cat was appointed stationmaster at Kishi station in western Japan in 2007. Donning her custom-made stationmaster’s cap, Tama quietly sat at the ticket gate welcoming and seeing off passengers. She quickly attracted tourists and became world famous.
Tama died of heart failure at the age of 16 last Monday. During yesterday’s Shinto-style funeral at the station where she served, Tama was made a goddess. The Shinto religion has a variety of gods including animals.
In one of several portraits decorating the altar, Tama posed in a stationmaster’s hat and a dark blue cape. Sake, fruit and vegetables were presented to the cat.
A stand outside the station was heaped with bouquets, canned tuna and other gifts left by thousands of Tama fans who came to pray from around the country.
Mitsunobu Kojima, the president of Wakayama Electric Railway thanked the cat for her achievement, and said she will be enshrined at a nearby cat shrine next month.
Before Tama’s arrival, the Kishigawa Line was near bankrupt and the station had no staff. Kojima said appointing Tama as stationmaster was initially an excuse to keep her at the station.
“But she was really doing her job,” he said.
The rest was a miracle, and his firm’s success story gave hope to dozens of other struggling local train lines, he said.
“Tama-chan emerged like a savior. It was my honor to have been able to work with her.”
Tama will be succeeded by another calico cat, Nitama, now an apprentice stationmaster.
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