Tama The Kishi Station Cat

April 29, 1999 - June 22, 2015

Tama was born in Kinokawa, Wakayama Japan, and was raised with a group of stray cats that used to live close to Kishi Station. They were regularly fed by passengers and by Toshiko Koyama, the informal station manager at the time. The station was almost closed in 2004 because of financial problems. Around this time, Koyama adopted Tama. Eventually the decision to close the station was withdrawn after the citizens demanded it stay open. In April 2006, the Wakayama Electric Railway destaffed all stations on the Kishigawa Line to cut costs. Station masters were selected from employees of local businesses near each station, and Koyama was officially chosen as the station manager.

In January 5, 2007, railway officials decided to officially name Tama the station master. As station master, her primary duty was to greet passengers. The position came with a station master's hat; in lieu of a salary, the railway provided Tama with cat food.

The publicity from Tama's appointment led to an increase in passengers by 17% for that month as compared to January 2006; ridership statistics for March 2007 showed a 10% increase over the previous financial year. A study estimated that the publicity surrounding Tama has contributed 1.1 billion yen to the local economy.

In January 2008, Tama was promoted to "super station master" in a ceremony attended by the president of the company and the mayor; as a result of her promotion, she was "the only female in a managerial position" in the company. Her new position had an "office" — a converted ticket booth containing a litter box. In January 2010, railway officials promoted Tama to the post of "Operating Officer" in recognition of her contribution to expanding the customer base. Tama maintained the station master's job while taking over the new job, and was the first cat to become an executive of a railroad corporation. Her staff consisted of two feline assistant stationmasters, Tama's sister, Chibi (ちび, born May 12, 2000), and Tama's mother, an orange tabby cat named Miiko (ミーコ, October 3, 1998 – July 20, 2009).In Spring 2009, the Wakayama Electric Railway introduced a new "Tama Densha" (たま電車 Tama train) train on the line which was customized with cartoon depictions of Tama. In August 2010, the station building at Kishi was rebuilt with a new structure resembling a cat's face. Both the "Tama Densha" refurbishment and station rebuilding projects were overseen by industrial designer Eiji Mitooka.

 

Tama died on June 22, 2015, of apparent heart failure at the age of 16 – the equivalent of about 80 human years, at an animal hospital in Wakayama Prefecture. After her passing, thousands of her fans from all over Japan came to pay their respect. She was honored with a Shinto-style funeral at the station and was given the posthumous title, "Honorary Eternal Stationmaster".

She was enshrined at a nearby Shinto cat shrine as spirit goddess Tama Daimyōjin (たま大明神) in August. After the funeral, Wakayama Electric Railway President Mitsunobu Kojima and other executives went to the area by Kishi River where Tama was born and selected stones to build her memorial. Tama's name was written in calligraphy by President Kojima and carved by a stonemason. The plaque and a bronze statue of Tama are located in a small Shinto shrine, called Tama Jinja, next to the station.

After the traditional fifty day mourning period, Tama was succeeded by her deputy, Nitama. Nitama's first official duty was to be conveyed to her predecessor's shrine to pay her respects.