The fishermen believed that feeding the cats would bring them good luck and prosperity, so the cats got fat and procreated big time.This went on for many happy years until one fateful day the salty sea dogs were collecting rocks to use with their fixed-nets and a stray stone bounced off a cat’s head leaving it dead.

The fishermen of Tashirojima felt pretty bad about the whole thing so they buried it and built a little shrine to the cat. The shrine’s still there and is still frequented by islanders to this day.

Tashirojima is part of the Miyagi prefecture (named after Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid the movie I think) where there are more than 50 stone monuments in the shape of cats which is an unusually high density, even for Japan. The cat shrines are most common in the areas where silk production was biggest which makes sense. Here’s the shrine on Tashirojima as it looks today.

☛ Up Next: Cat Saves Train Station From Ruin By Becoming Station Master