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Japan’s cat temple hopes for luck

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A CAT-THEMED temple in Japan is doing its part to help revitalise its area.

Unrin Temple in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is putting in a bit more effort this year because of 2022 being the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Tiger.

The temple's foray into feline territory was started by priest Jisei Sumida about 15 years ago. Sumida took inspiratio­n from a local tale featuring a cat that is also related to the temple.

The story is set in the early 17th century, soon after Tokugawa Ieyasu establishe­d his shogunate. It follows Nagai Motofusa, whose master was the first lord of the Choshu domain, now Yamaguchi Prefecture, and founder of Hagi Castle Mori Terumoto. Motofusa had a cat and loved it.

When Terumoto died, Motofusa followed him in death and was buried at Tenjuin Temple, the now-defunct parent temple of Unrin Temple. The cat was so saddened by its carer's death that it never left his grave, and during a traditiona­l memorial service held exactly 49 days after Motofusa's death, the cat bit its own tongue and died in its spot before the grave.

This tale has been passed down in Hagi as a story showing the importance of loyalty to one's master.

Using the story as inspiratio­n, Sumida filled the temple with cat-related items and got the word out mainly via social media.

Sumida also commission­ed a manga artist friend to create a booklet of the loyal cat's tale. Collecting various cat-themed ornaments and goods on his own, Sumida also received donations and began to offer them for sale to visitors. These include cat-designed ema wooden tablets on which visitors write wishes and fortune slips that come with cat figurines.

Four real cats residing at the temple have also gained popularity. In 2019, about 20 000 people visited the temple.

As 2022 is the Year of the Tiger, a wooden tiger statue made to mimic traditiona­l "beckoning cat" lucky charm statues was added to the feline collection in celebratio­n. The wooden artwork was crafted from a roughly 1.5m-tall log by Takao Hayashi, a chainsaw artist from Yamaguchi City.

"It'd be great if the beckoning tiger could help us return to what life was like before the coronaviru­s," said the 49-year-old artist.

Due to the pandemic, the temple is temporaril­y closed to visitors. Plans are under way to reopen the temple's main hall once the pandemic is under control. Sumida is considerin­g holding an exhibition of Hayashi's works and producing new commemorat­ive items.

Sumida considers this Year of the Tiger to be a roaring opportunit­y for the temple.

"We want to try to do something to revitalise the entire prefecture."

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