TRAVEL IN JAPAN

Omatsu Daigongen — The Amazing Cat Temple of Shikoku

A tragic woman and her cat, now Shinto deities

Entrance to Omatsu Daigongen Shrine. (All photos ©Diane Tincher)

Down a narrow road beside the Naka River in rural Tokushima Prefecture, a two-meter-tall Maneki Neko cat statue beckons all passersby to visit the Omatsu Daigongen Shrine, お松大権現.