A Stray Cat Became a Railway Executive - and Saved the Line

In January 2007, a Japanese railway company faced a simple choice: close its struggling rural line, or appoint a stray calico cat as stationmaster. They chose the cat. What followed is one of the most improbable corporate career paths in history.

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The Appointment

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The Kishigawa Line in Wakayama Prefecture had been bleeding passengers for years. When stations reopened under a new operator - Wakayama Electric Railway - in 2006, the company could not afford to staff the terminal at Kishi. A local shopkeeper named Toshiko Koyama had been feeding a stray calico cat near the station for years. That cat was named Tama. On January 5, 2007, the company made it official: Tama was appointed stationmaster of Kishi Station. Her salary was paid entirely in cat food. Her uniform was a custom stationmaster cap.

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The Promotions Begin

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The first year was an immediate success. Ridership on the Kishigawa Line jumped by roughly 10%, reversing five consecutive years of decline. A 2008 study by Professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto of Kansai University estimated that Tama drew approximately 55,000 extra passengers in 2007 alone. Estimates of her total economic contribution to the region put the figure at 1.1 billion yen (around $10 million). The company responded the only way it knew how: promotion.

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On January 5, 2008, Tama was elevated to Super Stationmaster. She received a new office - a converted ticket booth - and a hat with gold trim. In January 2010, she was named Operating Officer, becoming the first feline executive of any railroad in the world. On January 6, 2011, she was promoted again to Managing Executive Officer, the third-highest position in the company, below only the president and managing director. On January 5, 2013, Wakayama Electric Railway made her Honorary President for life.

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The Legacy She Left Behind

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Tama died on June 22, 2015, at approximately age 16, from acute heart failure. Thousands attended her Shinto-style funeral at the station. The company posthumously awarded her the title Honorary Eternal Stationmaster. On August 11, 2015, she was enshrined at a Shinto cat shrine on the station platform as a spirit deity, Tama Daimyojin.

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A Tradition That Continues

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Tama's successor was Nitama (meaning "Second Tama"), a medium-hair calico who had been apprenticing at the station since 2012. Nitama served as stationmaster until November 2025, when she died and was also given honorary stationmaster status. On January 7, 2026, Yontama - the third feline stationmaster - was officially appointed, keeping the tradition alive nearly two decades after it began.

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The Kishigawa Line, which once faced permanent closure, now runs a dedicated Tama Train decorated with illustrations of the cat. Passengers still travel from across Japan specifically to visit her shrine on the platform.