Shrine honors cats at a Japanese island where they outnumber humans
TASHIROJIMA, Japan — On a small island off Japan’s northeastern coast, visitors make offerings at a shrine for unlikely local guardians: cats. The “Neko Jinja,” or Cat Shrine, mythologizes cats as guardian angels of Tashirojima, where cats outnumber humans. Legend says the island used to be famous for sericulture and farmers would keep cats because … Read more