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Funassyi
is a fictional Japanese mascot character, unofficially representing the city of Funabashi, Chiba. It was created by a citizen of Funabashi with the objective of cheering up local residents and helping promote its hometown. It has subsequently appeared at events and festivals, as well as on numerous TV programs and commercials, gaining popularity around Japan. To date, there have been 4 CD albums and 6 singles and DVDs released featuring the character. It starred in its own anime series and live-action drama special, headlined its own concert at Budokan, and merchandise has been sold at a Funassyi character goods store. While it remains as an unofficial character, Funassyi is used frequently in official events for Chiba prefecture, the city of Funabashi, and Japan itself due to their popularity and high name recognition. Fictional profile According to the mascot's lore, Funassyi is said to neither a girl nor a boy but is a fairy, and its parents are said to be ordinary pear tree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Yuru-kyara
is a Japanese term for a category of mascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their ''kawaii'' (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that represent local culture, history or produce. They may be created by local government or other organizations to stimulate tourism and economic development, or created by a company to build on their corporate identity. They may appear as costumed characters (or ''Costumed character#In Japan, kigurumi'') at promotional events and festivals. ''Yuru-kyara'' has become a popular and lucrative business, with character-driven sales reaching nearly $16 billion in Japan in 2012. Popular ''yuru-kyara'' include Kumamon, Funassyi, and Chiitan, who have gained international recognition and have reached celebrity status in Japan. Etymology The name ''yuru-chara'' is a Contraction (grammar), contraction of . The adjective generally means "loose", but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Yuru-chara
is a Japanese term for a category of mascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their '' kawaii'' (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that represent local culture, history or produce. They may be created by local government or other organizations to stimulate tourism and economic development, or created by a company to build on their corporate identity. They may appear as costumed characters (or '' kigurumi'') at promotional events and festivals. ''Yuru-kyara'' has become a popular and lucrative business, with character-driven sales reaching nearly $16 billion in Japan in 2012. Popular ''yuru-kyara'' include Kumamon, Funassyi, and Chiitan, who have gained international recognition and have reached celebrity status in Japan. Etymology The name ''yuru-chara'' is a contraction of . The adjective generally means "loose", but in this application it has a number of con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Funabashi, Chiba
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 644,668 in 309,238 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . It is the Greater Tokyo Area's 7th most populated city (after passing Kawaguchi, Hachioji and Chiba), and second largest in Chiba Prefecture. Geography Funabashi is located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture approximately 20 kilometers in either direction from the prefectural capital at Chiba and downtown Tokyo. The central area forms a flat diluvial upland of the Shimōsa Plateau. The city sits at an elevation of 20 to 30 meters above sea level, and is relatively flat. The highest point is 32.3 meters in Narashino 3-chome, and the lowest point is 0.2 meters in Minatomachi 1-chome. Funabashi is crossed by the Tone River, and the small Ebi River is located entirely within city limits. Funabashi formerly had wide, shallow beaches, but much of the coast has been industrialized and transformed by reclai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Choruru
is a mascot character who was created for the 66th annual National Sports Festival of Japan and 11th annual National Sports Festival for People with Disabilities which were held in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 2011. After the tournaments, he became head of the Oidemase Yamaguchi Tourism Advertising Department, before becoming the Yamaguchi Prefecture PR General Manager in October 2012. Outline Choruru was first introduced on 14 October 2007 at the 'Oidemase! Yamaguchi Kokutai Jump Up Festa 2007'. His design features green antennae which have the shape of the first kanji character for Yamaguchi (山), which catch the abundant energy of the people and nature. His white face is the shape of the second kanji character for Yamaguchi (口), representing the prefecture's name on his head. The character design was chosen from the 80 entries from a prefecture-wide design contest, with a proposal by Shunan city based design company Sansou Ltd being used. Although the design for Choruru was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hikonyan
is a mascot created by the city government of Hikone, Japan. He was created in 2007 to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Hikone Castle. The character design is derived from a legend concerning '' maneki-neko'' and Ii Naotaka, the 3rd Lord of Hikone. The ''daimyō'' was beckoned by a white cat to seek shelter from a storm in a temple, and thus saved from a lightning strike. In Japanese, "nyan" is an onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ... for a cat's meow. Hikonyan's samurai helmet is based on a Ii family helmet currently in the Hikone Castle museum. Hikonyan's popularity increased tourist visitation of Hikone by over 200,000 annually. The estimate of Hikonyan's effect on the tourist industry is 17.4 billion yen (approximately US$218 million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kumamon
Kumamon is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign created to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Kumamon subsequently became nationally popular, and in late 2011, was voted top in a nationwide survey of mascots, collectively known as ''yuru-chara'', garnering over 280,000 votes. Following his success in the contest, Kumamoto earned (, , ) in merchandising revenue for the first half of 2012, after having only earned (, , ) throughout all of 2011. Kumamon enjoys tremendous popularity throughout the world. Economic impact In just two years, Kumamon has generated US$1.2 billion in economic benefits for his region, including tourism and product sales, as well as US$90 million worth of publicity, according to a recent Bank of Japan study. Sales of Kumamon items have reached ¥29.3 billion in 2012, up from ¥2.5 billion in 2011. The Bank of Japan also estimated that Kumamon generated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Misaki Station (Chiba)
is a passenger railway station located in the city of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway. Lines Misaki Station is served by the Keisei Matsudo Line, and is located from the terminus of the line at Matsudo Station. Station layout The station consists of two opposed side platforms, with an elevated station building. Platforms History Misaki Station was opened on 8 January 1949 on the Shin-Keisei Electric Railway. The current elevated station building was completed in 1987. Effective April 2025, the station came under the aegis of Keisei Electric Railway The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects; the combination uses diffe ... as the result of the buyout of the Shin-Keisei Railway. The move was completed on 1 April 2025. Passenger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the List of metropolitan areas in Japan, second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th-List of urban areas by population, largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Ōsaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gundam
is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with '' Mobile Suit Gundam'', a TV series that defined the " real robot" mecha anime genre by featuring giant robots called mobile suits (including the original titular mecha) in a militaristic setting. The popularity of the series and its merchandise spawned a franchise that includes 50 TV series, films and OVAs as well as manga, novels and video games, along with a whole industry of plastic model kits known as Gunpla which makes up 90 percent of the Japanese character plastic-model market. Academics in Japan have viewed the series as inspiration; in 2008, the virtual Gundam Academy was planned as the first academic institution based on an animated TV series. As of March 2020, the franchise is fully owned by Bandai Namco Holdings throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shironeko Project
is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by Colopl for Android and iOS. It was initially released in Japan on July 14, 2014. An English version was released internationally under the title ''Colopl Rune Story'' and operated from July 23, 2015, to October 7, 2016. A spinoff title, was released on both iOS and Android on July 31, 2016, while the upcoming sequel ''Shironeko New Project'' will be released on the Nintendo Switch at a later date. An anime adaptation of the game's third anniversary event produced by Project No.9 aired from April 6 to June 22, 2020. Plot A long time ago, there is an ancient legend revolving around two figures, the White Maiden of the Sky; represented by the White Cat, and the Black Prince of Darkness; represented by the Black Cat. At the same time, a war between the demons and the guardians of light took place, with the demons led by the Black King of Darkness attacking the lands in the sky. The Black Prince however, de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California, and Richmond, London. Since 2005, Bandai is the toy production division of Bandai Namco Holdings, currently the world's second largest toy company measured by total revenue. Between 1981 and 2001, Bandai was a manufacturer of :Bandai consoles, video game consoles. Bandai was founded by World War II veteran Naoharu Yamashina as Bandai-Ya on July 5, 1950, as the corporate spin-off of a textile wholesaler. The company began as a distributor of metallic toys and rubber swimming rings, before moving to metal cars and aircraft models. It was renamed Bandai Co., Ltd. in 1961 and achieved considerable success with its action figures based on the anime ''Astro Boy (1963 TV series), Astro Boy''. History Origins and success wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Osaka-jō Hall
is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi, Osaka, Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of , part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of Osaka Castle and it won the Osaka Urban Scenery Architects Prize Special Award in 1984. The hall may be reached on a short walk from either Osaka Business Park Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (Osaka), Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line or Osakajōkōen Station on the West Japan Railway Company, JR Osaka Loop Line. The hall is located in Osaka-jō Park, near Osaka Castle and is across a river from two other smaller concert halls. It is used for some sports, such as judo championships and wrestling matches such as those for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling's annual NJPW Dominion event. The venue has also been used for The New Beginning in Osaka (2020), The New Beginning in Osaka in 2020, New Japan Cup finals in 2020 and 2022 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
