The Japanese love cats. That’s why Hideo Aihara, executive director of the tourism association that oversees a castle atop a 430-meter-high (1,410-foot-high) mountain, decided to increase tourism by making a cat lord of the castle.
The three-year-old feline, named Sanjuro, assumed his title at Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture. Since becoming lord, Sanjuro has brought back a steady stream of tourists, thereby earning his title better than most humans could ever do.