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A railway company in Japan once ran out of money to pay a stationmaster. So they gave the job to the cat who lived outside the station. She wore a custom made hat, worked for cat food, and saved the entire line.
Her name was Tama. She was a calico cat who had spent her days sitting near the entrance of Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, greeting passengers anyway. When the company destaffed the station in 2006 to cut costs, the president visited to discuss what to do about the stray cats living nearby. He looked into Tama's eyes and later said they conveyed a sense of purpose as strong as any of his employees.
He made her stationmaster.
Within a month passenger numbers rose by seventeen percent. People began travelling from across Japan just to see her. Tourists arrived from other countries. A French documentary crew came to film her. The station was eventually rebuilt in the shape of a cat's face.
In her eight years as stationmaster Tama contributed an estimated one billion yen to the local economy. She was promoted four times. She eventually held the title of Honorary President of the railway. The only female in a senior position in the entire company.
When she passed away in 2015 over three thousand people attended her funeral. She was given the posthumous title Honorary Eternal Stationmaster and enshrined at a nearby Shinto shrine as a goddess.
The position of stationmaster at Kishi Station is still held by a cat today.
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