The Mascot Character s Hard Life (Japanese Edition)

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 mascots named as Miraitowa and Someity in Japan

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The Billiken was seen by many as a tribute to then-president, William Bill Taft.

There is even a terrifying hybrid of the two characters, called the Teddy Billiken. At the height of his fame, the Billiken became the official mascot of St. Even welcome in the shadowy world of freemasonry, the Billiken became the official mascot of the secretive Royal Order of Jesters , an elite Shriner group dedicated to the celebration of mirth. Alas, within a couple of years, the initial American Billiken boom was over, but his legend lived on in Alaska, where for decades Eskimos could be found selling tiny ivory Billiken figures carved from walrus tusks.

Meanwhile, the Billiken took Japan by storm. She even speculated that she had been Japanese in a past life, and was photographed wearing a kimono for the Chicago Daily Tribune in Prewar Billikens can still be found in Kobe shrines to this day. This is like having a stained glass window of Hello Kitty in a Catholic church. That particular Billiken even went on to inspire a light-hearted comedy film, Billiken directed by Junji Sakamoto , in which the titular mascot uses his power of luck to help the Shinsekai tourist board stop the demolition of Tsutenkaku tower.

Today, the movie can be found on Japanese Netflix. While there, I bought myself a golden Billiken statuette because I could use some good luck, and it now sits proudly on my coffee table. Buying a Billiken is thought to bring good fortune, but it is considered luckier to be given one, and luckiest of all if you steal it. On April 1, There are mascots for everything in Japan. The Rael movement worshipping bisexual aliens originated in France, but these promotional tactics are tailored to Japan. On March 29, For fun, I thought I would try to design a gotouchi-chara regional mascot myself.

According to illustrator Jun Miura, there are rules to follow when designing one of these characters:. Colourful signs of the ferocious feline, Sumanyan, can be seen on the local shopping street, but Sumanyan is actually the offical mascot of the Meguro shopping district association. I decide to draw a character each for the Ikejiri and Ohashi districts, and I start doodling some ideas.

Gotouchi-chara are usually based on local wildlife, cuisine, or farm produce. Since none of these things are to be found in Ikejiri Ohashi, I have to rely on the other popular source of inspiration for these characters- puns on the name of the town. Predictably, I come up with this abomination:. Ohashi still lacks a gotouchi-chara, however, so I get to work on creating one. The name reminds me of Kamonohashi the duck-billed platypus , so after failing to come up with anything better, I decide that drawing a platypus might be an acceptable idea.

I will probably be run out of town for having the gall to do so. Finally, in case Ikejiri and Ohashi want to be represented together by a single mascot, I hastily drew a gotouchi-chara which combines elements of both Oshirin and Ohashin. On March 16, These characters do a lot to raise money and promote local produce and tourism, as well as helping to lift the spirits of the local residents.

He was originally created for a nineties athletics event. Hula Ojisan is a hula-dancing old man from Iwaki City, Fukushima.

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Yaetan is based on the famous Fukushima historical figure, Yaeko Yamamoto, who fought in the Boshin civil war. On January 15, Around ninety regional mascots were congregated at the event. Monkeykuu, a stylish mascot from Hida, Takayama, has an eye for the ladies.

He canoodles with his fans with such frequency it makes me wonder whether the actor inside is very committed to character or just an opportunistic letch! Kappa no Kotarou is the mascot of Sumida-ku, where this event took place. He looked comfortable on his home turf, frolicking in the park. A very benign descendant of the murderous kappas of lore.

Coroton the spherical pig of Maebashi City, Gunma.

The Life and Times of Japan’s Mascots

It must be a challenge to move in that costume! On December 11, Here is a final selection of pictures of obscure mascots from the recent World Character Summit in Hanyu, Saitama. Muzumuzu-kun, king of Imizu City. Bring back monastic rule and put this guy in charge! Sasadangon of Niigata based on the local treat, sasadango strikes a sexy pose. By adding on multiple layers of accessories on an outfit, the fashion trend tends to have a childlike appearance.

It also includes toys and multicolor clothes. Although kawaii is typically a female-dominated fashion, there are men who decide to partake in this trend. Some men decide to transform themselves into women, more specifically kawaii women. They are able to transform themselves by wearing wigs, false eyelashes, applying makeup, and wearing kawaii female clothing. Men are also noted as often aspiring to a neotenic look. While it doesn't quite fit the exact specifications of what cuteness means for females, men are certainly influenced by the same societal mores - to be attractive in a specific sort of way that the society finds acceptable.

The concept of kawaii has had an influence on a variety of products, including candy, such as Hi-Chew , Koala's March and Hello Panda. Cuteness can be added to products by adding cute features, such as hearts, flowers, stars and rainbows.

Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets and national government, ward, and town offices. Cute can be also used to describe a specific fashion sense [33] [34] of an individual, and generally includes clothing that appears to be made for young children, apart from the size, or clothing that accentuates the cuteness of the individual wearing the clothing. Ruffles and pastel colors are commonly but not always featured, and accessories often include toys or bags featuring anime characters.

There have been occasions in which popular Western products failed to meet the expectations of kawaii , and thus did not do well in the Japanese market. For example, Cabbage Patch Kids dolls did not sell well in Japan, because the Japanese considered their facial features to be "ugly" and "grotesque" compared to the flatter and almost featureless faces of characters such as Hello Kitty.

Kawaii has gradually gone from a small subculture in Japan to an important part of Japanese modern culture as a whole. There is an overwhelming amount of modern items featuring kawaii themes, not only in Japan, but worldwide. Japan has become a powerhouse in the kawaii industry and images of Doraemon , Hello Kitty , Pikachu , Sailor Moon and Hamtaro are popular in mobile phone accessories. However, Professor Tian Shenliang says that Japan's future is dependent on how much of an impact kawaii brings to humanity.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has also recognized the power of cute merchandise and have sent three year-old women overseas in the hopes of spreading Japanese culture around the world. The women are dressed in uniforms and maid costumes that are commonplace in Japan. Kawaii manga and magazines have brought tremendous profit to Japanese press industry. Kawaii products are seemingly gaining more popularity beyond the borders of Japan into other Asian markets, and it's seemingly becoming more popular in the US , especially among the young anime and manga fans as well as among those who are influenced by Japanese culture.

The underlying belief of this Japanese designer is that "kawaii" actually saves the world. Japanese kawaii seemingly operates as a center of global popularity due to its association with making cultural productions and consumer products "cute". This mindset pursues a global market, [43] giving rise to numerous applications and interpretations in other cultures.

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The dissemination of Japanese youth fashion and "kawaii culture" is usually associated with the Western society and trends set by designers borrowed or taken from Japan. In these Asian markets, the kawaii concept takes on various forms and different types of presentation depending on the target audience. Taiwanese culture , the government in particular, has embraced and elevated kawaii to a new level of social consciousness.

The introduction of the A-Bian doll was seen as the development of a symbol to advance democracy and assist in constructing a collective imagination and national identity for Taiwanese people. The A-Bian dolls are kawaii likeness of sports figure, famous individuals, and now political figures that use kawaii images as a means of self-promotion and potential votes.

Japanese popular "kawaii culture" has had an effect on Singaporean youth. The emergence of Japanese culture can be traced back to the mids when Japan became one of the economic powers in the world. Kawaii has developed from a few children's television shows to an Internet sensation. The Asian countries of China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Thailand either produce kawaii items for international consumption or have websites that cater for kawaii as part of the youth culture in their country.

Kawaii has taken on a life of its own, spawning the formation of kawaii websites, kawaii home pages, kawaii browser themes and finally, kawaii social networking pages. While Japan is the origin and Mecca of all things kawaii, artists and businesses around the world are imitating the kawaii theme. Kawaii has truly become "greater" than itself. The interconnectedness of today's world via the Internet has taken kawaii to new heights of exposure and acceptance, producing a kawaii "movement".

The Kawaii concept has become something of a global phenomenon. The aesthetic cuteness of Japan is very appealing to people globally. The wide popularity of Japanese kawaii is often credited with it being "culturally odorless". The elimination of exoticism and national branding has helped kawaii to reach numerous target audiences and span every culture, class, and gender group. In the Collins English Dictionary in the United Kingdom entered "kawaii" into their then latest edition, defining as a "Japanese artistic and cultural style that emphasizes the quality of cuteness, using bright colours and characters with a childlike appearance.

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