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.
