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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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiitan
Chiitan is a Japanese mascot which was formerly a self-declared unofficial representative of the small port city of Susaki. It is a self-described "0-year-old fairy baby" otter with no gender that wears a turtle as a hat. The mascot was created in 2017 and participated in videos and events with government officials and Susaki's official city mascot, Shinjo-kun. Chiitan gained popularity through its unusual YouTube videos and social media posts in which it performed various clumsy or violent stunts. It became one of the most popular mascots in Japan in 2018, and at its height had nearly a million followers on Twitter. In January 2019 complaints about the controversial nature of Chiitan's videos and social media posts led Susaki officials to reject its association with the mascot. In addition to excluding the mascot from official events, the government of Susaki claimed that it held the copyright for Chiitan's likeness and threatened to sue the company responsible for managing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 her hometown. It has subsequently appeared at events and festivals, as well as on numerous TV programs and commercials, gaining popularity around Japan. The character has also issued 4 CD albums and 6 singles, DVDs, starred in its own anime series and live-action drama special, headlined their own concert at Budokan, and opened its own character goods store. While they remain as an unofficial character, Funassyi is used frequently in official events for Chiba prefecture, the city of Funabashi and Japan herself due to their popularity and high name recognition. Profile Funassyi is neither a girl or a boy but is a fairy. Its parents are ordinary pear trees. Funassyi is the fourth of their 274 children. Its birthday is July 4, and it is 1,883 years old as of 2021 (in a litera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 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 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) and the overall economic effects total 33.8 billion yen (US$425 million). Total merchandise sales reached about 1.7 billion yen (US$21 million) as of 2008. In 2010, Hikonyan won first place in the open vote competition of other mascots, collectively known as . See also * Kuma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kawaii
''Kawaii'' is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike.Kerr, Hui-Ying (23 November 2016)"What is kawaii – and why did the world fall for the ‘cult of cute’?", ''The Conversation''. Examples include cute handwriting, certain genres of manga, anime, and characters including Hello Kitty and Pikachu. The cuteness culture, or ''kawaii'' aesthetic, has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, and mannerisms. Etymology The word ''kawaii'' originally derives from the phrase ''kao hayushi'', which literally means "(one's) face (is) aglow," commonly used to refer to flushing or blushing of the face. The second morpheme is cognate with ''-bayu'' in '' mabayui'' (眩い, 目映い, or 目映ゆい) "dazzling, glaring, blinding, too bright; dazzlingly beautiful" (''ma-'' is from ''me'' "eye") and ''-hayu'' in ''omohayui'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Local Hero (Japan)
A is a Japanese superhero who is created to represent a particular region of Japan, such as a prefecture or city. They often perform in special martial arts stage shows. Created either by local groups or the local government, a local hero is modeled after the superheroes of Japanese tokusatsu. A local hero is often themed around the city or prefecture's local mythologies or industries, are created to teach the children who watch the stage shows certain things (like of Fukui, Fukui Prefecture), or are themed after the event that they are used to promote (the group performed at the Tokyo Motor Show to act in both the latter forms for road traffic safety). Although local heroes are produced to act in a local area, some gain fame throughout Japan by performing at other local heroes' shows or being featured in mainstream media. from Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, has had two theme songs recorded by anison recording artist Ichirou Mizuki (the first of which was previously available on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following 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 Metropolitan Area, which is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Osaka 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 Meiji Restoration, Osaka greatly expanded in size and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as a municipality. The construc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsuri
Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in Traditional Chinese holidays, traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance to their original form, despite sharing the same name and date. There are also various local festivals (e.g. Tobata Gion) that are mostly unknown outside a given prefecture. Unlike most people in East Asia, Japanese people generally do not celebrate the Lunar New Year, its observance having been supplanted by the Western New Year's Day on January 1 in the late 19th century (see Japanese New Year); however, many continue to observe several of its cultural practices. Many Chinese residents in Japan, as well as more traditional shrines and temples, still celebrate the Lunar New Year in parallel with the Western New Year. In Yokohama Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan Expo
Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture - the largest of its kind in the world - taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival - Kultima - and expanded to include some European and US pop culture as well. It is held yearly at the beginning of July for four days (usually from Thursday to Sunday) in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center (the second-largest convention center in France). The attendance has increased steadily over the years, with 2,400 visitors welcomed in the first edition in 1999 and more than 252,510 for the 2019 edition. Like the Olympic Games and many other mass gatherings, the 2020 edition was canceled because of the global COVID‑19 pandemic. History The first exposition took place in 1999 at the ISC Paris Business School and welcomed 2,400 visitors, a number which has grown steadily. In 2002, Japan Expo was hosted at the Center of New Industries and Technologies (CNIT) in La Défense, Paris. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tokushima Prefecture to the northeast. Kōchi is the capital and largest city of Kōchi Prefecture, with other major cities including Nankoku, Shimanto, and Kōnan. Kōchi Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific coast surrounding a large bay in the south of Shikoku, with the southernmost point of the island located at Cape Ashizuri in Tosashimizu. Kōchi Prefecture is home to Kōchi Castle, considered the most intact Japanese castle, and the Shimanto River, one of the few undammed rivers in Japan. History Kōchi Prefecture was historically known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chōsokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi clan during the Edo period. Kōchi city is also the birthplace of noted revolutiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
