Cat works as stationmaster in Japan

Kinokawa is a small town in Wakayama prefecture of western Japan. There is nothing special about this town, but a cat named Tama has made the town very famous in Japan. 

Tama, a 9 year old calico cat is appointed as stationmaster of Kishi Station in Kinokawa. She has been officially working for last two years. Two other cats were named deputy stationmasters at the same Kishi Station. Stationmaster Tama, wearing a formal railway uniform cap, and two other cats often welcome passengers at the unmanned Kishi Station. The railway company feeds her in lieu of salary.

 In Japan, you will often see small sculptures of lucky cat called Maneki Neko. These cats are supposed to bring luck.  Tama is also bringing luck to Kinokawa town. The station went unmanned in April 2006 as the railway line was losing money. But since Tama was appointed as the stationmaster, number of passengers using the line increased dramatically. The Wakayama railway company  expressed its appreciation of the cat’s role in boosting business by promoting her to super stationmaster and also by giving her a spacious stationmaster’s office equipped with a ventilation fan and a toilet.

The operator of the grocery shop at the station has been keeping the three cats. Tama became a national star when she appeared in books and documentaries.  She is also set to appear in a French documentary film about wonder cats around the world.

Tama has been doing such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled Kishikawa train line that she was recently promoted to ‘super-station-master.’
‘She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place. She is an amazing cat. She has patience and charisma,’ Wakayama Electric Railway Co. spokeswoman Yoshiko Yamaki said.

‘She is the perfect station master.’

Appointing a cat to turn around fortunes makes cultural sense in Japan, where cats are considered good luck and are believed to bring in business.

People are snatching up novelty goods – postcards, erasers, notebooks and pins – decorated with Tama’s photos. There’s even a special 1,365 yen (£6.65) book of photos of Tama, called ‘Diary of Tama, the Station Master.’

Tama had been on the brink of losing her place to live, with the nearby store where she was raised being torn down. Now, the station is home.

Kishi Station started running without any workers in April 2006 as part of cost cuts. The Kishikawa line had been losing 500million yen (£2.4million) a year as passenger numbers fell steadily to as low as about 5,000 a day, or some 1.9million a year.

After Tama’s appointment last year passengers have been gradually returning, recently rising 10 percent to about 2.1million a year.

In December Tama was rewarded with bonus pay – all in cat food.

Article By          

Praveen K.P.

S5 CSE