Living Treasures
In the touching documentary, “The
Cats of Miriktani,” filmmaker Linda Hattendorf, follows the life of a homeless
artist whose work caught her attention on the street of New York. Jimmy Miriktani was
not your average begger on the street, he refused to take money from passersby
unless it was a payment toward his beautiful paintings. His paintings consist
mostly of playful Japanese cats and tigers. When Linda discovered more about Jimmy’s past,
she devoted her time to teach him his rights, reconnect him with his family and
provide him with security. Linda gave him a spot in her small apartment for him to work on his art pieces, which made him feel more at home. His transformation was not an easy one because he was already set in his ways, however, staying engaged with art aided his ability to develop a new identity.
His talent of painting provided him with relief from the anger he was experiencing of losing his identity. It turned out that Jimmy had a growing reputation as an artist in Sacramento, California where he was born as a US citizen, however after World War II he became imprisoned in a Japanese American concentration camp. This dreadful experience angered him so much, he refused to renounce allegiance to Japan and gave up his US citizenship. He was a man without a country and a man without an identity. For Jimmy, living homeless and avoiding any aid the government would be able to provide, was his way of taking control over his own life. 
