🐈 Station Cat Mini-series Stop #1: Tama: ‘Station Master’ at Kishi Station in Japan

 

Tama on Duty July 2011

Greetings all, 

Welcome to the first of my 8 part mini series. This is my first of two Winter edition mini series for the month of December to end 2022. This mini series is named "Station Cat" where I focus on eight different felines that are from Japan, seven felines from United Kingdom and one feline from the United States. To start off my Station Cat mini series, we travel to Japan to learn about Tama who was the Station Master at Kishi Station in Japan. Links will be provided below at the end. So lets get on with learning about Tama. 

Please note: This is my notes that I wanted to share. 🐈

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Tama was part of a line of the feline station master who saved the Kishi Station on the Kishigawa Line of the Wakayama Electric Railway. Tama was adopted by Koyama around the time the time the Kishi Station was nearly closed in 2004. Two years later in 2006, Kishigawa Line saw the de-staffing of all the station in order to cut cost. Which resulted in the station masters of being picked from employees of local business near each station hence Koyama being chosen as the station manger of Kishi station.

• January 5,2007 Tama was officially awarded the title of station master by the railway officials.
• January 5 2008, Tama was promoted to "super station master" in a ceremony attended by the president of the company, the mayor, and approximately 300 spectators.
• October 28, 2008, Tama was knighted and awarded the title of "Wakayama de Knight"
• January 2010, railway officials promoted Tama to the post of "Operating Officer" in recognition of her contribution to expanding the customer base.
• Her staff consisted of two feline assistant station masters: 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).
• 3rd year of Station master: Station rebuilt into a shape of a cat’s face after 2009’s inauguration of Tama’s Train that was painted white with a cat face on the front and cartoon pics of Tama on the sides.
• 4th year of Station master: celebrated with a ceremony and her promotion to "Managing Executive Officer", third in line in management after the company president and the managing director.
• On January 5 2013, at the ceremony celebrating her sixth year as stationmaster, Tama was elevated to Honorary President of Wakayama Electric Rail for life.[citation needed] In April 2013, it was announced that due to Tama's increasing age, her work hours would be reduced and she would only be on view in the station office Tuesday through Friday, a reduction of two days from her original Monday through Saturday hours.

🐈 Sadly Tama passed away on June 22 2015, at the age of 16, of apparent heart failure at an animal hospital in Wakayama Prefecture. Had three Successors after her death on June 22 2015. 

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tama_(cat)#Career (Wikipedia link)

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190522-the-cat-who-saved-a-japanese-rail-line (BBC News article)

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/new-cat-stationmaster/index.html (Nitama-Tama's old assistance who assume the postion)