Fuzz and Fur: Japan's Costumed Characters

Fuzz and Fur: Japan's Costumed Characters:

While adoration for mythical creatures and popular anime characters is nothing new in Japan, this pastime has spurred a new marketing took utilized by local government institutions: yuru-kyara. Roughly translated as "amateur characters" these costumes are based on local attractions and points of interest that help define any given area. The municipalities take advantage of their citizens' willingness to create these characters in a strange amalgam of hometown pride and cost-saving measures on the part of the city councils. These civic mascots brought to life in floppy, fury, fuzzy and homemade costumes. Citizens convene conventions of their very own, demonstrating how yuru-kyara devotees represent another enigmatic, yet utterly captivating, aspect of contemporary Japanese visual culture.

$11 at Amazon. Via.

Boarded-up tree in japan

Boarded-up trees in Japan.

*Buy Myths and Legends of Japan at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Apparently fans are so anti-union that they're booing NFL players showing union solidarity.

2. Much of Japan's death penalty is shrouded in secrecy. Here's the technique:

The inmate is handcuffed and blindfolded before entering the execution room, officials said. Three prison wardens push separate buttons, only one of which releases the trapdoor — but they never find out which one. Wardens are given a bonus of about $230 every time they attend an execution.

Via.

3. Giant jackalope statue.

*Buy jackalopes at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Start your day by enjoying Courage Wolf's words of inspiration.

2. Photos of Kyoto.

3. Ancient Greek statutes used to be gaudily painted.

Link roundup

1. Lime green house angers the neighbors. Via.

2. Play a version of Space Invaders to win a watch from Diesel. Via.

3. Vintage Japanese post box will shoot you.

*Buy Pantone products at eBay.

Link roundup

1. John Salley talks about the time he and his teammates picked up prostitutes in Waikiki.

2. "Japan prides itself on having the world's longest life expectancy, but it is now struggling with a disturbing footnote to that statistic, revelations that hundreds listed as its oldest citizens are either long dead or haven't been heard from for decades." Via.

3. Tenacious Toys is selling the new Qees open box so you can pick the one you want.

Japanese bad hair day demon

Thomas Lynch is publishing a book about fabled creatures from around the world. Julian Callos's contribution is a Kami-kiri:

Kami-kiri are known for sneaking up on people and cutting all their hair off, particularly when they are unknowingly engaged to marry a youkai, spirit or other supernatural creature that is disguised as a human. These hair-cutting attacks are intended to delay or prevent weddings between humans and otherworldly beings, which are typically doomed to failure. There a spell to protect oneself from this that goes:

異国より 悪魔の風の　吹きくるに そこ吹きもどせ 伊勢の神風 (ikokuyori akumanokazeno fukikuruni sokofukimodose isenokamikaze) which means “When devil’s wind comes from a foreign place, may the gods send a counter-wind (from Ise; Ise is a strong Shinto area)"

People write down this spell in the entrance (genkan) and on things worn in the hair (combs, etc.).

*Previously: Japanese wall demon.

*Buy Dream Spectres: Extreme Ukiyo-e: Sex, Blood & the Supernatural at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Exploring the ruins of Japan’s illegal to visit Battleship Island.

2. Vampire idol/poison bearer by Steamcrow.

3. Meet the man who is dedicated to spreading free WiFi across Estonia. (Cory Doctorow wrote a great book about a character with a similar motivation.)

*Buy Japanese Design (MoMA Design Series) at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Tiny parking lot in Japan.

2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail Black Knight paper toy.

3. The Dodgers senior vice president for public affairs was paid $401,395 by the Dodgers Dream Foundation in 2007 at a time when the team charity's budget was only $1.6 million. Via.

*Previously: Lolcat bobblehead night.

*Buy bobbleheads at eBay.

Dekotora

Wikipedia: The Dekotora or Decotora, an abbreviation for "Decoration Truck", is a kind of loudly decorated truck most commonly found in Japan and the Philippines.





Lots of photos at Flickr.

*Previously: Garbage truck costume.

*Buy Dekotora toys at eBay.

The periodic table of super heroes (link roundup)

Avengers as elements by Shane Parker. See also: Superman.

And a few more links:

1. Phil McAndrew is hosting a "draw your favorite scene from a movie" contest. You can see Lucy Knisley's entry here.

2. Part Two of Boing Boing's interview with yakuza expert Jake Adelstein. It starts with this information:

They're usually misfits from Japanese society. The word yakuza itself comes from a losing hand in gambling. 893 (ya-ku-za). It's the worst hand you can have. So when they refer to themselves as yakuza, they're referring to themselves as losers. It's a very self-deprecating term.

3. Gallery 1988 posted several pieces from the upcoming show featuring the work of Brandt Peters and Kathie Olivas.

*Previously: Bob the Builder was given an extra finger for Japanese television to avoid yakuza comparisons.

*Buy Kathie Olivas toys at eBay.

Wargames t-shirt (link roundup)

Coming soon from Last Exit to Nowhere, a new Wargames-inspired t-shirt. Also, they have a new contest where the prize is a year's supply of their t-shirts.

And a few more links:

1. Great interview at Boing Boing with Jake Adelstein, a Jewish American reporter, who writes about the Yakuza. He's becoming a Buddhist Priest:

I've got a lot of yakuza friends and cop friends and reporter friends. They all die early. It would be nice to be able to do their funerals for them.

2. A look at the benefits and difficulties of writing a legal blog (pdf). Via.

3. Buy a water color doodle by Rex Crowle to help Haiti.

*Previously: Yakuza flash drive.

*Buy Japanese Tattoo Collections at Amazon.

Sexy sculpture (link roundup)

Sexy sculpture by David Kennedy. You can read more about his sculptures here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Somebody paid $17,000 at eBay to watch the Super Bowl with Barry Sanders (proceeds went to charity).

2. Giant concrete mushrooms in Japan.

3. Not much to see, but here's the Japanese site for Team Ico's The Last Guardian. Via.

*Previously: Little Big Planet/Shadow of the Colossus desktop wallpaper.

*Buy NFL bobbleheads at eBay.

Melted chocolate restaurant

Designed by Wonderwall, melted chocolate Godiva restaurant in Harajuku. Via.

*Previously: The Han Solo chocolate bar.

*Buy gourmet chocolate at Amazon.

Tuna-cutting wedding ceremony (video roundup)

Move over cake, here's maguro cutting in Japan. No, she doesn't shove sashimi in his face at the end. Via these sites.




Very creepy trailer for horror movie Frozen, about young attractive people stuck on a chairlift. Via.




This video will give you second thoughts about popping bubblewrap. Via.




Homemade Gonk Power Droid costume. Via.




Jacksonville Jaguar mascot tried sliding on a zipline over the stadium, but got stuck halfway across.

*Previously: Shaun White was the Wendy's mascot for Halloween.

*Buy cake toppers at eBay.

Vintage Japanese Baseball Cards (link roundup)

John Gall shares some of his vintage Japanese baseball cards. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Mattijn Franssen's surreal images.

2. Vampire girl sculpture.

3. Cheerful Santa sketch by Adam Koford.

*Previously: Baseball is much more exciting in Japan.

*Buy Japanese baseball toys at eBay.

Talking Tina Bobblehead (link roundup)

Twilight Zone Talking Tina Bobblehead on sale at Entertainment Earth.

And a few more links:

1. 120 GB XBox 360 plus two games for $275 at Amazon.

2. Apparently you can watch the new Christmas cartoon Prep and Landing here.

3. The gameplay modes in Aliens vs. Predator sound pretty cool.

4. Meet Japan's "shadow shogun," Ichiro Ozawa.

*Previously: Mazinger Shogun vintage tin robot.

*Buy bobbleheads at eBay.

Pressure Peers (link roundup)

Doesn't make me want to buy The Economist, but I like the message of "Pressure Peers." Via.

And a few more links:

1. Jared Diamond tries to answer the question, "Where did the Japanese come from?"

2. You can download the mp3 of White Gold and Strawberry Summers singing "Almost As Beautiful As Me" here.

3. The NY Times reports that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke at a high school, but demanded that he get to edit any article about the appearance in the school newspaper. UPDATE: Kennedy says it was a misunderstanding and blames an underling.

*Previously: Japanese factory at night.

*Learn how to deal wth peer pressure with these books at Amazon.

Happy Meal Toys in Japan

Ironically, while McDonald's in America is selling Astro Boy toys, McDonald's in Japan is selling kawaii creatures. (McDonald's India is selling cars.) Via.

*Previously: Kawaii matchbooks from Japan.

*Buy Fast Food toys at eBay.

Creepy robot girl

This is Miimu, a singing robot by AIST. Via.

*Previously: Robot park in Japan.

*Buy Ghost in the Shell toys at eBay.