A few weeks ago I ventured out to Nishi-Kokobunji, on the outskirts of Tokyo, to catch a rare appearance from the local mascot, Nishiko-kun, an armless, dancing character based an ancient roof tile excavated in the area. The enigmatic Nishiko-kun rarely comes to events in other parts of the city (but has managed to fly to other countries such as the UAE and France).
Nishiko-kun in the temple
I was a bit late when I arrived at the Shinto temple where Nishiko-kun was set to appear, and there was nary a soul in sight on the grounds outside, so I sheepishly entered the temple through an unmanned side door. Inside, a couple of dozen people were sitting on pews, heads bowed in quiet contemplation, as two bald Buddhist monks in robes performed a religious ritual before them, involving chanting and banging a gong. I would have assumed I’d come to the wrong address, were it not for the fuzzy grey mascot sitting in the front row, silently observing the ritual. I quietly slipped into a vacant seat.
Once the ritual was over, we were treated to an impressively nimble dance performance by Nishiko-kun, followed by a meet and greet.
Somewhere on my journey home, I mislaid the flyer for the event, so I never did work out what the religious ritual was for, but it was a fascinating spectacle nonetheless.
The Furusato Matsuri (Hometown Festival) is a big food event held each winter over several days in Tokyo Dome, and hundreds of towns and cities around Japan are represented by booths selling yummy local delicacies. Some of them bring mascots along, which is why I went to the event last month. Here are some of the characters I encountered.
Chiitan the fairy baby otterBlack Bancho the streetwise squid from Itoigawa CityJinenger the mountain yam, the unofficial mascot of Shiroi CityTurbo-kun, the mascot for the musician, TM Revolution, is dejected after making a toddler cry.Ishikawa Prefecture’s tourism mascot, HyakumansanKoumi-chan is one of the Ikazukinz from Hachinohe City, a family of seagulls wearing squid hats.Tairyouhousaku-kun is the mascot of the Furusato MatsuriDon Chuck and Rara, the mascots of Tokyo Dome CityIkaru Seijin, the alien squid mascot from Hakodate, JapanTokoron, the plane/boy mascot of Tokorozawa CityWatch out, Kumamon!
2018 has been another eventful year in the world of Japanese mascots, so here are some of the highlights.
Social Media Superstars
Chiitan in Shibuya Loft Department Store
The year’s fastest rising star was Chiitan, the disaster-prone otter/fairy baby. Chiitan only first appeared last December (initially as the mascot for an actual living otter, also called Chiitan), and in one short year has amassed a huge online fan base (more than a million followers on Twitter), thanks to the character’s endless stream of viral slapstick videos. Numerous lucrative merchandising and advertising deals inevitably came Chiitan’s way. I managed to catch a couple of Chiitan’s rare public appearances this year, and the otter was always surrounded by droves of adoring fans.
Chiitan is the first of a new wave of internet-savvy costumed characters with Youtube and Twitter accounts. The character’s success has inspired several imitators, such as Pasuke the panda and Poohtah-kun, both of whom post videos of their own comical pratfalls. An animated “virtual youtuber” ghost named Bakegoro, from Matsudo City, also appeared in costumed form for the first time in October, and was soon making headlines after being spotted cleaning up litter in Shibuya the morning after Halloween.
There was no shortage of new mascots this year. The most prominent debut was that of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, whose designs were voted for by the nation’s schoolchildren. I was invited to their unveiling, a big event where they were introduced by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
The unveiling of Miraitowa and Someity
Another notable pair who made their debut were the 2019 Rugby World Cup mascots, Ren and G, who are “shishi”, sacred lion-like mythical creatures who ward off evil and bring happiness.
Meanwhile, both Nebaaru-kun (the natto fairy from Ibaraki) and Shinagawan (the cable TV mascot dog of Shinagawa, Tokyo) introduced mechanized metallic versions of themselves this year — Mecha-Nebaaru-kun and Mecha-Shinagawan.
Another memorable new character this year was Colon-chan, an intestine-haired lady who encourages colon cancer screenings in Japan’s Miyoko City. Apparently, Colon-chan has helped increase the number of early detections of the disease.
Colon-chan
My favourite new mascot was Namakoro, the pink sea cucumber mascot for Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sasebo Region. The sailor-suit-wearing pink creature was selected because sea cucumbers don’t run, they don’t hide, and they have a thick skin to protect themselves from enemies.
Namakoro the pink sea cucumber
Endangered Mascots
It was a turbulent year for Hemiemon, a new character from Yokosuka City, modeled on a pair of old naval guardhouses to celebrate their recent listing as historic buildings. Not long after the mascot made an enthusiastic debut, it was revealed that the two sentry posts were in fact built in the 1920s, far more recently than thought, rendering Hemiemon rather obsolete.
Meanwhile, the striking Tokitama (a hairy-legged egg who wears a fried egg as a hat), the popular mascot of Kagawa’s Tokiwa-Gai Shopping Street, faces an uncertain future and has not been seen in public since the company that manages him closed in the spring.
Another imperiled mascot is Ananmaru the bulldog, the public safety mascot of Komae, Tokyo. Ananmaru’s features and demeanor were modeled on the local mayor, and that mayor was forced to resign following sexual harassment allegations earlier this year, leaving the axe hanging over the head of his canine lookalike.
Ananmaru (left) and the mayor he’s modeled on (right)
In Memoriam
While new mascots arrived, we had to say goodbye to a couple of old friends.
In March, Kan-kun, a globe with plane wings, who had been the mascot of Kansai International Aiport since 1994, retired and left “to fly around the world on a new journey”.
Mochi Usagi, a pink bunny with a rice cake head, also retired as mascot of Yahiko Village in Niigata Prefecture in April because the license with the creator ran out.
Mochi Usagi
Memorable Events
Highlights of the year came courtesy of some familiar faces.
The Chiba Lotte Marines’ occasional mascot, the ever-evolving Nazo no Sakana (the Mysterious Fish) got himself a passport and went to Hawaii.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpandANIhTQ
Kan-chan, the enema/fig/penguin mascot of Ichijiku Pharmaceuticals, released a suitably bonkers new theme song video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naFfVFRoWuw
And Hiyoko, the lovable chick mascot for Nissin Chicken Ramen became a devil worshipper in a very rock n’ roll commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUaPjKgEjRU
The Yuruchara Grand Prix
A big annual event in Japan is the Yuruchara Grand Prix, an online vote to establish the most popular mascot of the year. In 2018, the proceedings were beset with scandal, when several mascots (most notoriously, Konyudokun, the long-tongued boy from Yokkaichi City) were accused of rigging the election by buying thousands of votes. After suspicious votes were removed, the winner of the troubled election was announced as Kapal, a popular kappa mascot from Shiki City in Saitama. The eccentric, cucumber-wielding water imp has risen to prominence in recent years by playing bass in the mascot bands Charamel and GCB47. I was happy with this result and went to Kapal’s homecoming celebration the following month, where the beloved green monster was paraded through the streets of Shiki by cheering locals.
Kapal is given a special resident’s card by the Shiki Mayor.
All in all, 2018 has been very enjoyable, and a particularly well-deserved year of success for Chiitan and Kapal. These mascot shenanigans have led to an eventful year for me, too — I got interviewed or profiled by CNN, Vice, The Independent, The AV Club, and Syfy among others, and I wrote an article for Citilab — so I’m thankful to all my fuzzy mascot friends. I’m already excited to see what 2019 has in store.
Last month I went to the World Character Summit, Japan’s largest gathering of mascots, held each year in scenic Hanyu City in Saitama Prefecture. Around four hundred fuzzy characters from around the country (and a couple from overseas) made their way to Hanyu for the event. The mascots had stalls to sell their merchandise and wandered through the crowd, posing for pictures with their fans.
Highlights for me included seeing Kapal, the much-loved kappa mascot of Shiki City, basking in adulation after having been voted Japan’s favourite mascot of 2018 at the previous weekend’s Yuruchara Grand Prix; a raucous stage performance by Funassyi, the pear fairy from Funabashi City; and accident-prone otter Chiitan interacting with fans and other mascots.
Here are some snaps from the event:
Tochisuke the warehouse/dog from Tochigi City meets Shizunavi, the mountain-eared cat from Shizuoka.Kapal, Funassyi, Akkuma, and Koakkuma on stage at the World Character Summit. Mascots for Osaka TV station YTV, Shinobi (a cat-costumed ninja) and Ninmaru (a dog that sits on Shinobi’s head) meet Uwabaki Cook, a slipper character made for YTV’s 55th anniversary.A gathering of round, yellow mascots (Bari-san, Potekuma, Tokoron, and Zoukirin)Torarin, mascot of Kyoto National Museum, takes it easy.Matagi no Momiji-chan and Mikke-chanTwo eccentric kanji-faced mascots, Kureshi and Okazaemon Mascot rock stars, Kapal, Funassyi, and Akkuma, onstage Kapal is attacked by a pair of dangerous bears, Gloomy and Zombear.Go-chan cavorting with KonyudokunKaparu feeds his cucumber to Drakiryu.Teletama-kun meets fellow yellow fellow, Ndabe.
There was much excitement at Shiki City’s annual festival yesterday, thanks to the presence of local mascot, Kapal, who won Japan’s biggest mascot popularity poll (the Yuruchara Grand Prix) two weekends ago. Fans from around the country flocked to Shiki (a small commuter city in Saitama Prefecture, about an hour from Tokyo) to celebrate the eccentric green imp, who plays bass guitar in two different bands and always carries a cucumber with him, which he tries to force-feed to his fellow mascots, thirty of whom came along to the festival.
Kapal plays bass with GCB47
A kappa statue in Shiki City
The yearly Yuruchara Grand Prix poll attracted controversy last month when local government workers were caught paying for thousands of online votes for their mascots. Once the suspicious votes were deducted from the three mascots in the lead, Kapal leapt from fourth place to first, with 889,346 votes. This was a well-deserved outcome for long-serving mascot Kapal, who has entered the competition every year since 2013 and had announced that this year would be his last attempt.
Kapal is a kappa, a green goblin of lore with a beak, a turtle-like shell on its back, and a plate on its head. The ancient legend of the water-dwelling kappa is strongly associated with Shiki, a city through which three rivers pass, and more than twenty kappa statues can be found near the city’s station. As well as Kapal, three other kappa mascots joined the festivities in Shiki, and several other mascots celebrated Kapal’s recent victory by wearing kappa-style beaks or plates on their heads.
Honuppi, the Hawaiian turtle, with a kappa cap on his head
Udon Nou, a noodle-brained mascot from Kagawa Prefecture, is wearing a Kapal disguise.
QNosuke, from kasukabe City, is wearing a Kappa hat.
Kapal’s recent rise in popularity can be explained by his touring the country with Charamel, a heavy metal band fronted by Funassyi, a superstar pear fairy (and the unofficial mascot of Funabashi City, in Chiba Prefecture). Funassyi himself drew unprecedented crowds to the Shiki festival with an appearance a few years ago, but yesterday it was Kapal’s other band, GCB47, that was performing at the event. Alongside a human singer, GCB47 features Kapal on bass, Spanky (an unemployed dog from outer space) on guitar, Togoshi Ginjiro (a stray cat) on keyboards, and Nyajiro (another cat) on drums. GCB47’s first ever gig took place in Shiki in 2013, so their concerts in the city are always a special occasion. They performed several upbeat songs to the excited crowd, including a cover of Wham’s Last Christmas.
Kapal is given a special resident’s card by the Mayor.
A special guest who came to congratulate Kapal was mascot superstar Hikonyan, a fluffy white cat in a samurai helmet, who can be found most days on the grounds of Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture. The mayor of Shiki also appeared onstage to award Kapal with a special residents’ card. Kapal accepted it on the condition that he didn’t have to pay taxes. The mayor lamented that he wasn’t as popular as Kapal.
All in all, it was a glorious day for the friendly neighbourhood kappa.
Kouenji’s mascot Psyche Delhi-san takes on Tomato Ningen, the human/tomato slice.
Last month I went to a mascot event in Kouenji, a grungy corner of Tokyo known for its live music scene and second-hand clothes shops. Appropriately for the location, the mascots in attendance were mostly obscure or unofficial. The highlight of the day was a wrestling tournament held in front of the station, during which the furry characters battled each other with amusingly clumsy and uncoordinated piledrivers and chokeslams.
Last month I attended the “Tourism Expo Japan 2018” in Tokyo Big Sight, a huge aircraft hangar-sized event space in Odaiba, Tokyo. There were displays, installations, and performances from tourist destinations around Japan and the rest of the world, but I went to the travel-themed convention in the hope of catching some regional mascots there. I wasn’t disappointed—there were seemingly hundreds of them, from all corners of the country (and a handful of international ones). This was an excellent opportunity to see some obscure mascots who rarely visit Tokyo. Here are some photos:
Sugarabu-chan the sugar fairy is the mascot of the online shop, Konpeitouyasan.
Momocchi and Uracchi are mascots from Okayama
Toripy, the pear/bird mascot of Tottori, meets Mayumaro, the 2000-year-old silkworm cocoon mascot of Kyoto.
Kuedon and Wakapan are mascots from Wakayama Prefecture.
Tsuntsun the dog and Guribu the pig (mascots from Kagoshima, Japan) are good dancers.
Ieyasu-kun and Naotora-chan are from Hamamatsu City.
Kyun-chan, a Japanese pika in a deer costume, is Hokkaido’s tourism mascot. IburiOne Jr. is a dog mascot from Iburishichou, also in Hokkaido
Kumamon, the hardest working mascot in Japan!
Tacchan (from Ie village, Okinawa) is a bird with peanut pants and a mountain hat.
Kiko-chan the red bull is the mascot of Kikonai, Hokkaido.
Ndacchi is the mascot of Akita, Japan.
Domo-kun, the long-serving mascot of the national broadcaster, NHK.
Kazumo-chan, the mascot of Rumoi, Hokkaido, is a piece of herring roe.
The Shikoku Railway Company mascots are Smile Eki-chan and Reccha-kun.
Kita No Pe-chin is the mascot of Kitanakagusuku village in Okinawa.
Today I caught a rare appearance by Adachin, a blue and white Japanese Chin dog and the unofficial mascot of Tokyo’s Adachi Ward.
Adachin has an interesting backstory. He was originally conceived of in 2007 as a character for promoting arts and culture in Adachi, and was designed by Jun Aoki, an animator on the cult anime, Pop Team Epic. However, a newly elected mayor cancelled the plan, so Adachin was left a masterless mascot and now identifies as a stray dog. These days, Adachin sells T-shirts and other merchandise online with slogans like, “The mayor hated me,” and, “I got fired.”
Today, Adachin was in his hometown of Adachi Ward, attending a craft market held in the P-kun Cafe, an establishment themed around another character, P-kun, who is the yellow mascot of the P Ark chain of pachinko parlours and looks like Pac-Man with a nose and body.
It was great to finally see Adachin in the flesh. He was quite a striking sight, with his vivid colours and long fur, and he was happy to pose for plenty of pictures. It was a rare treat, since Adachin only surfaces a couple of times a year to support local events such as this small market. I hope Adachin’s fortunes change and we see more of him in the future.
Japan’s fastest rising costumed character, Chiitan, is an anarchic, accident-prone otter with a turtle for a hat. In the past couple of weeks, a Chiitan pop-up cafe has opened in Yurakucho, Tokyo, and a number of Chiitan pop-up shops have opened in Loft department stores around the country. Last week, I paid a visit to the cafe, and caught an appearance by Chiitan herself at one of the pop-up stores.
Chiitan is employed by the tourist board of Tokyo’s “Electric Town”, Akihabara, but also moonlights as a mascot for Susaki, a city whose regular official mascot is a fellow otter, the placid and well-behaved Shinjokun. Shinjokun and Chiitan appear to share a designer, but are based on different breeds of otter (Shinjokun’s breed is extinct). Chiitan was, in fact, inspired by a real-life otter, an Asian small-clawed otter named Chiitan, who also enjoys a sizeable online following.
The pop-up cafe is at the top of Marui Department Store in Yurakucho until August 5th and has a small menu of novelty dishes inspired by Chiitan’s antics. There’s a Thai curry arranged to resemble Chiitan’s face, which comes with a hammer with which you can messily mash up the food. I ordered some cookies which were designed to be karate chopped in half. It was all very expensive, but a lot of fun.
Last Saturday Chiitan made an appearance in Shibuya Loft Department Store. The event was only announced shortly before, but there were still tons of people there to see the destructive otter in action. The crowd were treated to a series of party tricks, like Chiitan violently attacking an inflatable toy and trying to spin a hula-hoop. Afterwards, a few people (including myself) were invited to pose for pictures with Chiitan. I was surprised to discover that Chiitan is one of the taller mascots, at about seven feet tall (if you include the turtle hat). A busy otter, Chiitan was soon hustled away, but it was a blast to encounter a mascot at the top of its game.
This morning I went to Hibiya Midtown, a luxurious shopping and entertainment complex in Tokyo, to see the grand debut of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic mascots, six months after their designs were voted for by Japan’s elementary school students.
Sitting outside in the sweltering July heat, the attendant crowd were treated to a short animated film featuring the Pokemon-like characters, and a brief introduction by a pair of Japanese medalists. Then the wall behind the stage unexpectedly burst open and the two eagerly-awaited mascot characters emerged from a cloud of dry ice. It was quite a bombastic entrance.
They were then joined on stage by the former prime minister, Yoshihiro Mori, and current Tokyo governor, Yuriko Koike, who were there to reveal the names of the mascot pair. The blue Olympic mascot (whose checkered pattern blended in with the mural behind him) is called Miraitowa; and the pink Paralympic mascot is called Someity.
Yoshiro Mori and Yuriko Koike reveal the new mascots’ names.
According to some signs at the scene, “the name MIRAITOWA is based on the Japanese words “Mirai” (future) and “towa” (eternity) connected together. This name was chosen for the Olympic mascot to promote a future full of hope forever, in the hearts of all the people in the world. The name SOMEITY comes form “Someiyoshino”, a popular cherry blossom variety, and the phrase “so mighty”. Someity has cherry blossom tactile sensors, and can show enormous mental and physical strength. The mascot represents Paralympic athletes who overcome obstacles and redefine the boundaries of possibility.”
There was then a ceremony to mark the opening of the “Mascot House” pop-up store in the lobby of the Hibiya Midtown building. I was given a sneak preview of the mascot-related merchandise on sale in the shop, including plushies, neckties, water bottles, and keyrings. After that, Miraitowa and Someity were whisked off for a cruise down the Sumida River, to wave at fans watching from the riverbanks.
The two characters will be appearing at the “Mascot House” every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until the first week of September, so you can go and have your picture taken with them.
