Shipponashi's diary

My name is Shipponashi (no tail), people call me a stray cat. I live in a small yard outside of a crumbling old apartment in Tokyo with my family; Grandpa, Dad, Mum, big brother and baby sisters. My sisters were born last year here and they are very small and pretty. I love them. I don't know how much I am loved by my brother - he is very bossy and treats me like his servant. I call him Boss and he seems to like it. He is so big and strong, and eats a lot. Fortunately humans around us are quite friendly to us, and sometimes they feed us. So we never starve. The problem is though, these days Boss takes sisters' lunch away while Mum is out. She knows what Boss is up to, but does not say much.

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I have this thing called 'charm', which Boss does not have, and it is fatal for any stray cat not to be charming. He has terrible scratchy voice, bendy legs (worse than having no tail) and a grumpy expression on his face, even when he is not grumpy. The couple, Uncle and Auntie, living on the next corner are certainly very suspicious of Boss. Well, it took a while even for me to get a stray permit for their garden. Auntie used to shoo me away as soon as they saw me, because she was convinced that I was the one who always drop poo near the pretty bonsai pots. However I knew Uncle has a soft spot for cats. Today I saw Uncle whistling and pointing at a bowl of food. I thought it was a trap, but I could not resist the smell of sardines. It was a feast and I gobbled it all up. Then I thought about my family.

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I know that my family need me for survival, especially Boss. He went around to the couple's garden this morning and ended up with getting shot by a water pistol, because Auntie saw Boss peeing in her flowerbed. He should have done it more discreetly. He was sulking and hungry. In the afternoon I went around and saw a bowl of food in the garden. I ate half of it and left. Auntie noticed it and took it away, but she changed her mind and put the bowl back there again. I went home and told Boss to go and eat the rest after it gets dark.

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I found a bowl of food again today in the garden. I felt so happy that I sung an old song of Tokyo stray cats. Other cats joined in and the voices echoed through the narrow streets.

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It seems to work out well this way, at least Boss stopped stealing sisters' lunches and no one is left grumpy anymore. Auntie saw Boss hanging around while I was eating half a bowlful at lunchtime, but she did not say anything. Boss and I get on quite well these days. He even says thank you, and I see Boss's face getting a little softer.

Soup Kitchen Oxford

Today I'll tell you about the soup kitchen in Oxford. I visit the kitchen as a helper every Wednesday, and I feel that this kind of support for homeless people is necessary in Japan too - Japan is my home country.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film ‘Tokyo Sonata’ (2008) depicts a father, who loses his job but cannot tell his family about it. He pretends to go to work and wanders about the city, and queues up for a free meal provided by a charity. Outside in cold weather, people sit wherever they can with a plastic bowl in their hands. He finds his old friend being served. The father says to his friend, ‘it does not taste nice, does it.’

Is this the reality of Japan? Is it often the case, this temporary format of support, with a small tent and a portable cooker? Why not using public buildings, shrines and temples? Of course some Japanese NGOs have really good facilities and management systems, with wonderful volunteers and social workers. But there is not so much public recognition, support and media publicity about them. Homeless people are put aside in Japanese society. At present Japan has serious social problems to tackle - some people end up with sleeping rough after losing their jobs and houses and having temporary financial support run out, especially after the earthquake and nuclear disaster. Currently in Sendai, homeless people are at high risk of getting into illegal labour in the Fukushima nuclear site with minimum wage. Also there is poverty linked with the fact that so many old people are living alone. According to WHO statistics in 2013, 31% of Japan’s population is now over 60 (world average 11%). These are really difficult and complicated problems, but in order to improve these situations, the most urgent treatment is to give people in need nice warm food under a roof on a regular basis.

Soup Kitchen, Manzil Way, Oxford UK:

We had fewer regulars than usual in our dining hall on the first day of 2014. I saw some faces looking really sad and worn out. It is obvious that the Christmas holiday season is the most difficult time of the year for homeless people. It seems like everyone is with families, relatives and friends. There are many different charities helping out homeless people around Oxford city until Christmas day, but when Christmas is over everything suddenly quietens down, until the New Year comes around.

The kitchen gets lively while cooking. Cool air comes in through windows but I keep warm moving about. If you stop then you will see pots and pans piling up in front of you pretty quickly. Timekeeping is the key to success for a big kitchen like this.

These are served today, lovely and warm. Other than these we have soup (very popular), bread, another main course (choose one of them), vegetables, sweets, fruits etc. depending on what is brought in by the Food Bank van. I can see warm tasty food gives nourishment to body and soul, especially in cold weather like this.

This photo was taken just before the Christmas dinner, so the table had a red cloth on. The tables are neatly set, the layout is creating a friendly atmosphere. At the back of the hall there are more tables full of second-hand clothes and shoes piled up for homeless people. Also there are selections of food that people can take home in small bags. All these food and clothes, once labelled ‘unwanted’, are appreciated again. This recycling system seems so simple and effective. Perhaps the UK infrastructure is more suitable for starting a project like Soup Kitchen for homeless people. There are generally less rules, regulations and layers of administration in the UK compared to Japan. If there are good facilities, excess food and a sustainable partnership, lots of people can be comforted through a scheme like this.

It is worth mentioning though, that the kitchen urgently needs workmen who can fix a leaking basin and broken dishwasher!