Japanese Mascots- Why is the country so obsessed with costumed characters?
They can be found everywhere you go. They represent companies, cities, brands, and even will pop up temporarily for certain events before disappearing into obscurity, to live on only as merchandise. Why have mascots become such a staple for Japanese advertising?
Having some bipedal animal or other wacky persona representing a brand is not exclusive to Japan of course. People may see Tony the Tiger in the U.S. pitching Frosted Flakes, Coco the Monkey selling Coco Puffs in the UK, or Cheese Panda encouraging Egyptians to buy their cheese from Arab Dairy. However in terms of mass popularity of the practice, Japan takes the cake.
Yuru-kyara
Mascots in Japan are called “yuru-kyara”, which means “gentle character”. For a long time now, Japan has tried to associate cute and endearing qualities to its many public brands so that they are better received, and mascots are one easy way to do this. In 1998 NHK (Japan’s public broadcasting service) created a character called Domo-kun in an attempt to make their content more engaging for younger viewers. Domo’s popularity exploded way past expectations, garnering positive feedback from viewers of all ages and even becoming internationally renowned. Many Japanese companies have since followed the trend of having a character of some kind represent their brand as a figure.
This practice does not apply exclusively to companies. Most cities, towns, and prefectures in Japan also have their own mascots, who can be found wandering around different events that may be going on in the area looking for photo opportunities. They are also frequently pictured in local papers or on residential announcement boards, kindly reminding citizens to separate out their trash for recycling or keeping them up to date on important weather announcements.
Kimo-kawaii
After a time, this competition of cuteness became saturated and super competitive. Everybody was trying to make a character that was both adorable while being memorable enough to stand out. In response to this, “kimo-kawaii” mascots began to surface. These “grotesque but cute” characters started pushing the status quo by introducing a creepy aspect to stand out from the cuteness overload. The trick with these was to not make them so overwhelmingly disturbing that people wouldn’t want to see them again.
Event Mascots
Sometimes mascots will be temporary, created to advertise a specific event and then go on to exist only in memory. One example of this are the mascots created for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Miraitowa and Someity.
The votes for the mascot had just finalized about a month before I arrived in the country. Merchandise for these two characters can already be found everywhere in Tokyo right now, but will most likely disappear soon after the conclusion of the Olympics. These pop-up mascots can be found at many events, especially at large sporting events for which they can provide unique collectible items.
The “Dark Side” of Mascots
Many more have made a splash on the internet, garnering worldwide fame for videos or images of their antics. Some of these examples are positive, while some have some dangerous or controversial twist. One example of this was a case earlier this year where a mascot by the name of Chiitan started wreaking havoc in a city in Southern Japan.
Chiitan, a rambunctious otter unofficially representing Susaki, Japan, is best known for antics such as flipping cars, drop-kicking people through a wall of trash cans, and one viral video titled “Chiitan going to your house”, in which the otter can be seen removing a baseball bat from a locker, stuffing it down a leg of the costume, and leaving the building.
Turns out the people of the internet love veiled threats, as Kochi prefecture (where Susaki is located) has seen a boost in tourism since the beginning of the year. This can be attributed in part of the international exposure granted by Chiitan, even if it’s not exactly what a city may want to be known for.
In fact, many of these stunts are what land mascots in the international spotlight. The point of mascots is to bring attention to whatever entity the character is representing, and many of these more controversial figures are succeeding in doing just that.
Next time you’re in Japan, check out what festivals are going on near you. There, you can find all your favorite zany mascots taking pictures and generally having a good time.
Festivals tend to accompany holidays, so check out this list of Japanese holidays to help you plan your trip.
