Tashirojima

In Japan's late Edo period, much of the island raised silkworms for textiles. Residents kept cats to chase mice away from the silkworms.{{cite news |title=Tashirojima: The Japanese Island Ruled by Cats |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/05/15/tashirojima_is_an_island_in_japan_ruled_by_cats.html |newspaper=Slate |date=15 May 2014 |access-date=29 September 2015 |issn=1091-2339}} In 1602, all pet cats in Japan were freed by decree to combat the rampant rodent population that threatened the silkworm industry. The release of Tashirojima's pet cats is what created the island's thriving wild population.{{cite news |url=http://cattime.com/cat-breeds/japanese-bobtail-cats#/slide/1 |title=Japanese Bobtail Cat Breed Information, Pictures, Characteristics & Facts |newspaper=CatTime |language=en-US |access-date=17 February 2021}}

In 1989, Tashiro Elementary School closed and was turned into an educational center, which itself closed in 2008. In 2000, Manga Island, a tourist facility, was built. In 2007, a {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on|sp=us|sigfig=1}} and {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on|sp=us|sigfig=1}} race called the Hyokkori Hyōtan Tashirojima Marathon was held.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

In 2011, the island was hit by the Tōhoku tsunami, which destroyed the harbor and caused ground subsidence, leaving the villages more exposed to flooding during high tides and strong coastal winds. The local cat population fled inland to escape the tsunami, and only a portion returned to the villages afterward. The tsunami also caused an outbreak of parva in the region, and at least 80 cats on Tashirojima were captured and vaccinated in a matter of days to prevent the disease. Due to the loss of the harbor, which had supported the ferry service and the island's small fishing industry, a number of fishers and their families moved away.

By 2015, government workers had rebuilt much of the harbor to raise the coastline and stop the floods, but the island's fishing industry remained diminished. Tourism, however, remained steady, and at least two regular visitors to the island had taken up residence there.

By 2015, the human population numbered around 80, while the total cat population exceeded that by several hundred, with at least 150 cats permanently residing in one of the villages. A vet visited the island every two months to examine the village-dwelling cats. While the cat population consists mostly of crossbreeds and mixed-breed cats, one distinct breed commonly seen on the island is the Japanese Bobtail.{{cite web |title=Cat Island |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tashirojima |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 September 2015}}

In Japanese culture, cats are considered to bring good luck, said to attract money and good fortune to those who cross their path.{{cite web |url=https://www.kcpinternational.com/2014/02/cats-in-japanese-culture-and-history/ |title=Cats in Japanese Culture |website=KCP International |access-date= }} Some{{according to whom|date=August 2018}} even claim that it was the cats who kept the majority of the island from being destroyed during the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

File:田代島の猫神社.jpg

There is a small cat shrine, known as {{Nihongo|2=猫神社|3=neko-jinja}}, in the middle of the island, roughly situated between the two villages. In the past, islanders raised silkworms for silk, and cats were kept to control the mouse population, as mice are natural predators of silkworms. Fixed-net fishing became common on the island after the Edo period, and fishers from other areas would stay on the island overnight.{{cite web |url=https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5031.html |title=Tashiro Island |website=Japan Guide |date=11 February 2019 |access-date= }}

The cats would visit the inns where the fishers stayed and beg for scraps. Over time, the fishers developed a fondness for the cats and began interpreting their actions as predictors of the weather and fish behavior. One day, while collecting rocks for use with fixed-nets, a stray rock fell and killed one of the cats. Feeling remorse, the fishers buried the cat and enshrined it at that location on the island.

There are at least ten cat shrines in Miyagi Prefecture. There are also 51 stone monuments shaped like cats, an unusually high number compared to other prefectures. These shrines and monuments are primarily concentrated in the southern part of the island, where silkworm cultivation was once practiced.

In 2004, a couple moved to the island from Sendai and opened an inn for travelers called Hamaya. In 2006, they started a blog about the island and its inhabitants.[http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/tashirohamaya/ Hamaya blog] In May 2006, Terebi Asahi filmed an episode of {{nihongo|Jinsei no Rakuen|人生の楽園}} on the island, which mentioned the large cat population. Fuji Terebi's film {{nihongo|Nyanko the Movie|にゃんこ the Movie}} featured a story about {{nihongo|Droopy-Eared Jack|たれ耳ジャック|Tare Mimi Jack}}, one of the island's cats. The movie was spun off into a series, the latest of which, Nyanko the Movie 4, was released in July 2010. Each installment has included an update on Jack. As a result, many cat lovers visit the island, and package tours specifically to "look for Jack" are now available. Cat photo contests and exhibitions are also held on the island.

In 2012, the BBC in the UK aired a short television series titled Pets – Wild at Heart, which featured the behaviour of pets, including the cats on Tashirojima.{{cite web |title=Pets – Wild at Heart |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050d3fx |publisher=bbc.co.uk |access-date=29 January 2015}}

In 2015, Landon Donoho, an independent filmmaker, crowd-funded a documentary titled Cat Heaven Island. It follows the stories of the island's inhabitants, both human and feline.{{cite web |title=Cat Island Documentary by Landon Donoho – Kickstarter |url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1086506962/cat-island-documentary/description |publisher=Kickstarter |access-date=12 February 2017}}

• Oysters
• Abalone

• 40 minutes on the Ajishima Line ferry. Tashirojima is about {{Convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on|sp=us|sigfig=1}} from downtown Ishinomaki.

• Aoshima, Ehime, another "Cat Island" in Japan
• Ōkunoshima, often called "{{lang|ja-latn|Usagi-jima|italic=no}}" ("Rabbit Island") because of the numerous feral rabbits that roam the island

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{{Commons category|Tashiro Island}}

• {{Wikivoyage inline|Tashirojima}}
• {{cite news |url=https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=876bb67f34c01abbcc60571a4d2a5d22&mediatype=video&query=hz¤t=9&orderBy=Relevance&hits=24&referrer=search&search=%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3Dhz%26allFilters%3DTravel:Subject,Beverage%2520manufacturing:Subject,Social%2520affairs:Subject&allFilters=Travel:Subject,Beverage%20manufacturing:Subject,Social%20affairs:Subject&productType=IncludedProducts&page=1&b=2a5d22 |title=Cat island recovers from tsunami |work=Associated Press |date=March 13, 2012}}
• {{cite web |url=https://matcha-jp.com/jp/6750 |title=田代島の観光ガイド."ネコ好きの楽園"へのアクセス、ネコスポットも丸わかり |publisher=Matcha |date=2025-01-22 |language=ja}}

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Category:Islands of Miyagi Prefecture

Category:Ishinomaki

Category:Cat islands in Japan