Tama (たま, born April 29, 1999) is a calico cat who is the station master and operating officer at Kishi Station in Kinokawa city, Wakayama prefecture, Japan.
In April 2006, the Wakayama Electric Railway converted all stations on the Kishigawa Line
from manned to unmanned in an effort to cut costs. Station masters were
selected from employees of local businesses near each station. For
Kishi station, Toshiko Koyama, the neighborhood grocer, was selected as
station master. Koyama had adopted Tama and other stray cats, and she
fed them at the station.
In January 2007, railway officials decided to officially name Tama the station master.[1]
As station master her primary duty is to greet passengers. The position
comes with a stationmaster's hat; in lieu of a salary, the railway
provides Tama with free 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 has estimated that the publicity surrounding Tama has contributed
1.1 billion Yen to the local economy.[2]
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 is "the only female in a managerial
position" in the company.[3] Her new position has 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 will maintain the stationmaster's job while taking
over the new job, and is the first cat to become an executive of a
railroad corporation.[4]
Her staff consisted of two feline assistant stationmasters, Chibi (ちび, born May 12, 2000) and an orange tabby cat named Miiko (ミーコ, October 3, 1998 – July 20, 2009). Now only Chibi remains. Tama appeared in a documentary about cats titled La Voie du chat in French and Katzenlektionen in German by Italian filmmaker Myriam Tonelotto, broadcast on European TV channel ARTE in April 2009.[5]
Kishigawa Line announced that it was releasing a new "Tama Densha" (たま電車 Tama railcar/train) train that was customized with cartoon depictions of Tama. It began running in spring 2009.[6]
By January, 5th (2012). Tama's official apprentice named "Nitama" ("Second Tama") was presented. [7]
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