Following the death of the former feline "stationmaster," the Wakayama Electric Railway Co., has appointed another cat as her successor with the hope of continuing to attract passengers. The railway issued a letter of appointment Tuesday for Nitama (Tama the Second), a 5-year-old female, to become the master of Kishi Station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture.
Her predecessor, who died at 16-year-old in June, Tama, who is also a calico, was credited for rescuing the financial difficulties of the business.
They built a Tama Shrine that enshrines Tama as a deity protecting the once money-losing Kishigawa Line.
"I hope (Nitama) will contribute to boosting local sightseeing and other businesses," said Mitsunobu Kojima, president of the railway, Japan Times reported.
The Kishigawa Line had been losing passengers before Tama became the master of Kishi Station in January 2007, saving the railway from shutting down.
The cuteness of the feline as well as the novelty of a cat stationmaster attracted tourists and even sparked a trend of appointing rabbits, dogs and other animals as stationmasters in other local railway stations in Japan.
To read more about Tama, her rise to power and her Shinto funeral, CLICK HERE.
