Posted August 18, 2017 by Jonelle Patrick4 Comments Animals

The Lost Cat Shrine

Don’t you just hate it when your kittehs get a touch of the walkabout? Well now you can do something about it. A quick prayer at the Tachikawa Suitengu Shrine will have them back on your doorstep quicker than a twist of the can opener!

Judging by the number of prayer plaques hung on the rack at this quiet shrine in Tachikawa, the local kami-sama are A+ at delivering lost felines back home, safe and sound.

Offer your respects at this cheery-looking *neko*-guarded stone basin for starters…

…then buy an *ema* at the shrine shop and step over to this stone pussycat…

…and pen your wish for Growler’s safe return.

…thank the *kami-sama* by giving the stone kitteh a little scritch behind the ears.

As an added bonus, if you happen to have a baby at home that’s less than a hundred days old, their future teeth are in luck. Pick a stone from this sacred pile (they’re called “*hakatame no ishi*“) and take it home. Touch the stone with a pair of chopsticks, then touch the baby’s gums and say a prayer for good strong teeth. If you bring the rock back to the shrine, your young ‘un is guaranteed to have a long life and choppers of kryptonite.

If you’d like to visit the Lost Cat Shrine the next time you’re in Tokyo, a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

And just for fun, here are the eleven strangest shrines in Tokyo, with all the inside scoop on the resident gods’ superpowers

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Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!

4 thoughts on “The Lost Cat Shrine” ›

Interesting side bar: In these days of pull-top cans, my cats don’t recognize the can opener. I hardly ever use it myself!

Jonelle Patrick says:

September 23, 2017 at 6:50 am

Ha, you can tell how long ago I had my last cat!

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Having lost a cat, I think such a shrine can play an important emotional role. Your blog is fascinating and I have enjoyed looking at it.

Jonelle Patrick says:

September 23, 2017 at 6:55 am

Thank you so much! The best thing about writing this is crossing paths with people who like the same things I do. ^^;; Sorry you lost a cat, though – I think all of us who’ve been through that harrowing experience appreciate how great it would be to have a shrine where our fervent wishes to get our kittehs back can be given form and substance!

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