Black Cats at the Verkehr Museum

This is one of my favorite museums and it is walking distance from my apartment. Adult admission is only 400 yen. It has two floors, the permanent first floor exhibit about ships and the history of Shimizu Port, and the changing exhibit on the second floor. The current upstairs exhibit is “The Black Cat Kitan Kohnosuke Sakazaki Collection”. 

Kohnosuke Sakazaki is the singer and guitarist of the Japanese rock band Alfee, which was formed in Tokyo in 1973. I don’t know the story of how this collection began, and photos are not allowed on the second floor.  I’m guessing there are thousands of cats in this collection. They were made in Japan from the Taisha to the Showa eras and distributed domestically and abroad. Black cats were seen as symbols of good luck and prosperity. The cats on display are small, some are tiny. The cats are in every shape, and form all kinds of decorative purposes. There are post cards, advertisements, toys, vases and tiny boxes, every kind of cute adornment you can think of. There is fabric printed with the cats, cats made of metal and ceramic, and other materials. There are little mother cats attached to tiny kittens with tinier chains. There are dancing cats and sitting cats, sleeping cats and flat cats. 

The exhibit is through May 11th.  I might have to go again.

The picture above is from the museum website. 

The photo above is from the instagram account of Kohnosuke Sakazaki‘s instagram account.

I crossed the street from the museum to see the cruise ship that was in the port. Before the pandemic, it seemed like there were more frequent cruise ships in port. Maybe the cruise ships are coming back again.