The Cats of Mirikitani

An eighty year old man living on the streets of New York City is not what he seems in this documentary called, The Cats of Mirikitani. He is called Jimmy by people on the street, however his real name is Tsutomu Mirikitani. Jimmy appears to be just an ordinary homeless man, however there is so much more to him than what you see. He is an amazing artist and draws pictures of cats, flowers, nature, and the internment camp where he used to live, the attack on 9/11 and the bombing in Hiroshima. The documentary depicted Jimmy's artwork, but also his life, how he ended up homeless in New York, and how he got off the streets.

Jimmy's artwork is seen as beautiful and powerful. While he lived on the streets, he would not take any money from anyone unless they were purchasing his artwork. He met Linda Hattendorf while living on the streets. She often went to visit him to see his art and try to decipher what they mean and what kind of story he had to tell. They became good friends, so when September 11, 2001 came around and the twin towers were attacked, Linda found Jimmy on the streets, coughing from all of the fumes. She invited him back to her apartment and he stayed with her until she could help him with his social security and finding a place to live. Linda successfully helped him, but along the way she finds there is much more to Jimmy than he seems. He was born in Sacramento, California and raised in Hiroshima, Japan. He was there for the bombing and when he came to the United States, he lived with his sister until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Under the Executive Order 9066, Jimmy and his sister were sent to two separate internment camps many miles apart.

When Jimmy was finally freed from the internment camp, he worked for Seabrook Farms for some time and then eventually went to New York where he became a cook. He was hired by a man to be a live-in cook on Park Avenue. However, in the late 1980's his employer passed away and he was left without a job or a home. From then on, Jimmy lived on the streets of New York selling his artwork to make a little money to survive until he met Linda in Soho and they became friends. The picture to the right is his view of what happened on September 11, 2001. Each of his pictures have distinct characteristics and tell a story.

Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani 

To the left is a photo of Jimmy when he was young. He was an aspiring artist and specifically left Hiroshima to escape the war and pursue his career as an artist in the United States. His motto was "make art, not war." He strongly disapproved of war and militarism. He saw the world differently. It is amazing that he could see the world the way he did. He is truly an inspiration to all who knows of him and has seen the film. It is an excellent film and I strongly recommend it to all of the people out there that are aspiring to do what they love. Everyone deserves a chance to make their dreams come true and Jimmy Mirikitani did just that.

The Cats of Mirikitani is an inspiring documentary. I definitely recommend it!