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Sento-kun
is a yuru-chara mascot created by Nara City Office to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of Nara Heijō-kyō, the ancient capital of Japan, in 2010. The city of Nara has a long tradition of adopting guardian deities such as Nio (a pair of temple guardians), Asura, Jūni Shinshō (Twelve Heavenly Generals) and Shitenno (Four Guardian Kings). The new mascot was chosen by the city office to inherit their mission, and as a "personification of the energy" of the ancient capital dotted with temples, gardens and shrines. Sento-kun is meant to resemble an amiable young boy who has the antlers of a deer, an animal which has long been regarded as a heavenly protector of the city. Character design The character was designed by Satoshi Yabuuchi, a sculptor and professor at University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Typ ...
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Sento-kun
is a yuru-chara mascot created by Nara City Office to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of Nara Heijō-kyō, the ancient capital of Japan, in 2010. The city of Nara has a long tradition of adopting guardian deities such as Nio (a pair of temple guardians), Asura, Jūni Shinshō (Twelve Heavenly Generals) and Shitenno (Four Guardian Kings). The new mascot was chosen by the city office to inherit their mission, and as a "personification of the energy" of the ancient capital dotted with temples, gardens and shrines. Sento-kun is meant to resemble an amiable young boy who has the antlers of a deer, an animal which has long been regarded as a heavenly protector of the city. Character design The character was designed by Satoshi Yabuuchi, a sculptor and professor at University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Typ ...
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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-chara'' has become a popular and lucrative business, with character-driven sales reaching nearly $16 billion in Japan in 2012. Popular ''yuru-chara'' 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 connotations ...
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Mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fictional, representative spokespeople for consumer products. In sports, mascots are also used for merchandising. Team mascots are often related to their respective team nicknames. This is especially true when the team's nickname is something that is a living animal and/or can be made to have humanlike characteristics. For more abstract nicknames, the team may opt to have an unrelated character serve as the mascot. For example, the athletic teams of the University of Alabama are nicknamed the Crimson Tide, while their mascot is an elephant named Big Al. Team mascots may take the form of a logo, person, live animal, inanimate object, or a costumed character, and often appear at team matches and other related events, sports mascots are of ...
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Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of 2022, Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara is a core city located in the northern part of Nara Prefecture bordering the Kyoto Prefecture. Nara was the capital of Japan during the Nara period from 710 to 794 as the seat of the Emperor before the capital was moved to Kyoto. Nara is home to eight temples, shrines, and ruins, specifically Tōdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, and the Heijō Palace, together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest, collectively form the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Etymology By the Heian period, a variety of different characters had been used to represent the name Nara: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . A number of theories for the origin of the name "Nara" have been pro ...
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Heijō-kyō
was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara). Empress Genmei ordered the Imperial capital moved from Fujiwara-kyō to Heijō-kyō in 708, and the move to Heijō-kyō was complete in 710. Heijō-kyō was modeled after Chang'an, the capital of Tang-dynasty China, although Heijō-kyō lacked walls. In the city, merchants and traders from China, Korea and India introduced various foreign cultures to Heijō-kyō through the Silk Road. As a result, Heijō-kyō flourished as Japan's first international and political capital, with a peak population of between 50,000 and 100,000. The overall form of the city was an irregular rectangle, and the area of city is more than 25 km2. Architecture In the area of Heijō-kyō, there are ancient Buddhist temples, and some temples are also l ...
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Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ...
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Asura
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated "Titan (mythology), titan", "demigod", or "antigod". According to Hindu texts, Hindu scriptures, the asuras are in constant battle with the devas. Asuras are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods with good or bad qualities. In early Vedic literature, the good Asuras are called ''Adityas'' and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called ''Danava (Hinduism), Danavas'' and are led by Vritra. In the earliest layer of Vedic texts Agni, Indra and other gods are also called Asuras, in the sense of their being "lords" of their respective domains, knowledge and abilities. In later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, the benevolent gods are call ...
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Twelve Heavenly Generals
In East Asian Buddhism, the Twelve Heavenly Generals or Twelve Divine Generals are the protective deities, or ''yaksha'', of Bhaisajyaguru, the buddha of healing. They are introduced in the ''Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja Sūtra''. They are collectively named as follows: * *Japanese: or or Names of generals The precise names of the generals seem to vary depending on tradition. Those listed below are from an available Sanskrit transcription of the ''Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja Sūtra'': While the ''Honji'' and zodiac correspondences listed above are the standard in Japanese sources, there is variation among texts and regional traditions. Popular culture * Statues of the Twelve Heavenly Generals stand in Ngong Ping, Hong Kong. * The Heavenly Generals and their names were used as character material for the powerful digital monster characters who serve the "Four Holy Beasts" (Digimon Sovereigns in the English Dub) in the Digital World, from the 2001 series D ...
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Four Heavenly Kings
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ancient language Sanskrit, they are called the "Chaturmahārāja" (चतुर्महाराज) or "Chaturmahārājikādeva": "Four Great Heavenly Kings". The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhist temples. Names The Kings are collectively named as follows: The Four Heavenly Kings are said to currently live in the Cāturmahārājika heaven (Pali: Cātummahārājika, "Of the Four Great Kings") on the lower slopes of Mount Sumeru, which is the lowest of the six worlds of the devas of the Kāmadhātu. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the Dharma. File:Guardian of Phra Meru Mas of Bhumibol Adulyadej - Vessav ...
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Satoshi Yabuuchi
is a generally masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings *哲, "intelligent, philosophy, clear" *悟, "bodhi, enlightenment, apprehension" *敏, "quick, sharp" *智, "knowledge, wisdom" *聡, "intelligent, clever, bright" *慧, "bright, intelligent" *訓, "teach, instruct" *諭, "teach, to lead" People with the name *, Japanese politician *, Japanese surgeon and astronaut *, Japanese politician *, Japanese actor and voice actor *, Japanese journalist *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist *, Japanese jazz guitarist *, Japanese politician *, Japanese origami master * Satoshi Kanazawa (born 1962), American-British evolutionary psychologist *, Japanese scientist *, Japanese linguist *, Illustrator *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese baseball player *, film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese actor *, Japanese computer scientist *, Japanese actor and voice actor *, Japanese journalist and ...
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University Of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by the Japanese government. UTokyo has 10 faculties, 15 graduate schools and enrolls about 30,000 students, about 4,200 of whom are international students. In particular, the number of privately funded international students, who account for more than 80%, has increased 1.75 times in the 10 years since 2010, and the university is focusing on supporting international students. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most selective and prestigious university in Japan. As of 2021, University of Tokyo's alumni, faculty members and researchers include seventeen prime ministers, 18 Nobel Prize laureates, four Pritzker Prize laureates, five astronauts, and a Fields Medalist. Hist ...
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