Tofugu is built on WordPress, so we were excited when WordPress Japan recently announced its new mascot, Wapuu. While it’s not quite as cool as the Tofugu fugu (what is?), Wapuu is still pretty darn cute.

But if there’s one thing we all know for sure about Japan, it’s that has tons of mascots. So how does Wapuu stack up against  other Japanese blogging characters?

Ameba, one of Japan’s biggest blogging sites really pales in comparison when it comes to the mascot department. Ameba somehow missed the memo about Japanese mascots being cute and chose possibly the weirdest mascot of all: an amoeba.

Who’s the cutest protozoa? You are!

Amoeba are microscopic single-celled organisms. To me at least, it’s a mystery how a formless blob represents blogging or is supposed to get people excited about Ameba. But considering Ameba’s astounding popularity in Japan, they must be doing something right.

Maybe Ameba should have taken a look at Typepad. Typepad is a blogging software a lot like WordPress, and about five years ago it decided on its official Japanese mascot, Toph:

Toph is the total opposite of the Ameba amoeba in a lot of ways: Toph’s a more recognizable creature (a legless fox, duh), a lot cuter, and doesn’t have terrifyingly blank eyes.

P.S. Are you a huge amoeba fan? Follow us on Twitter.

P.P.S. More into multi-celled organisms? Like us on Facebook.

From baseball teams to giant corporations to even tiny towns, it seems that Japan has a mascot for everything. People claim that Kobe alone has 42 different mascots for everything from the city itself to recycling campaigns. In Japan, these mascots are called yuru kyara, or “gentle characters.” The costumes that yuru kyara wear are called kigurumi which, when worn by civilians, can tread dangerously into furry territory.

So why do so many Japanese cities and town create their own mascots? Mascots help boost a town’s profile, and create a brand that a town can market. Not to mention that mascots can be just so darn cute that they’re hard to ignore!

And in fact, mascots are hugely popular in Japan, having their own fan clubs, websites, and even conventions.

Sometimes though, a mascot can be more confusing or strange than appealing; and that, to me, is a lot more interesting. Let’s check out some of my favorite weird mascots:

Manbe-kun

Moments later, this local Japanese politician was devoured by Manbe-kun.

If you asked me what Manbe-kun is supposed to be, I don’t think I would be able to tell you. He’s something like a mix of a crab, clam, starfish, and soulless, unblinking eyes.

Manbe-kun is the mascot of a town called Oshamanbe in Hokkaido. Manbe-kun is surprisingly popular, and even has his own website and Twitter account.

Earlier this year, Manbe-kun got in trouble for making some political comments on his Twitter. You’d expect a town mascot to say things like “Our town looks very lovely this time of year” or “Be sure to visit during our seasonal festival!” Instead, Manbe-kun (or rather, the PR firm that runs his Twitter) posted tweets talking about Japanese imperialism during World War 2. Not exactly the kind of thing that brings tourists running to Oshamanbe.

Since then, the mayor of Ohsamanbe has suspended Manbe-kun’s Twitter account, leaving Manbe-kun to pursue his first love of terrifying people. You can check out Manbe-kun’s official YouTube channel, full of videos of him standing alone in complete silence, here.

Sasebo Burger Boy

“Big Kahuna Burger! I hear they have some tasty burgers.”

Once again, America’s greatest contribution to the world is hamburgers. The Japanese city of Sasebo is home to a major naval port and during the US Occupation of Japan after World War 2, the US Navy established a base there. Tons of restaurants opened up around town to serve hamburgers to the American troops stationed at the base and even today, the city has a huge number of burger joints. The Sasebo government even produces a “Burger Map” of the city to help tourists find the tastiest burgers around town.

Sento-kun

“Ladies.”

Longtime Tofugu readers will remember when Koichi wrote about Sento-kun, but here’s a recap for those who don’t: Sento-kun was the mascot for the city of Nara’s 1300 anniversary. Unlike Manbe-kun, Sento-kun is easy to describe: a half-naked chubby man-baby with antlers. (He’s actually supposed to be a Buddha to represent the Buddhist ties that Nara has with deer antlers as a nod to the tame deer that roam Nara.)

Sento-kun’s equally strange-looking grandfather, Rokuji.

People understandably really didn’t like Sento-kun when he was first created, so eventually Nara chose another mascot, Manto-kun. Even though Sento-kun was replaced by a cuter, less bizarre mascot, Sento-kun’s legacy didn’t end there. Sento-kun gained a cult following, spawning tributes, parodies, and homages to the former mascot.

Hikonyan

I know I said I’d talk about the strangest yuru kyara in this post, but it’s hard to talk about mascots in Japan without talking about one of the most popular of all time: Hikonyan.

Hikonyan is the official mascot of Hikone Castle and his name is a combination of Hikone and nyan, the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat’s meow. His costume is a maneki neko wearing a samurai’s helmet.

But most importantly? People go crazy for Hikonyan. He is, understandably, very adorable, and the mascot of a popular tourist attraction, but Hikonyan’s popularity goes way beyond that. He has a giant fan following, appears at public events, and becoming somewhat of a national sensation.

In fact, Hikonyan is a big reason why all of these other mascots exist. Once people caught wind of how much press Hikonyan was drumming up, they decided that they too needed a yuru kyara for their town/park/host club. So is Hikonyan a hero and a villain for kickstarting the yuru kyara craze? History will tell but in the meantime, I think we can all agree he’s too cute for his own good.

Which mascot is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Header Image Photo Credit: Edward Harrison

P.S. Fan of cute, furry things? Follow us on Twitter.

P.P.S. Have a cold, outer shell and can’t love adorable things? Like us on Facebook.

Remember back in the day when Nara’s new mascot was supposed to be the creepy baby deer man (sounds similar to manbearpig, yeah?) shown crossed out above? Well, it seems as though the public outcry was strong enough, and Nara will be getting a much more attractive mascot called “Manto-Kun.” Definitely an improvement, though, you could put poop on a stick and it would still be better.

Apparently there was a contest that decided this (our contest was first, though!), and although the creepy baby mascot will still be the “official” mascot, the one chosen on this site will be used by everyone anyways. Here’s all the ex-potentials. Obviously the one above was the one that was chosen.

#3: Really reminding me of Kirby. You know how he does that pose on Super Smash? Isn’t that the same pose??
#5: Looks like the dog is about to pee on that temple
#6: Everyone loves plaid
#7: Pretty diggin’. Looks kind of like our tofugu, actually.
#10: I didn’t even know there was a Red Robin restaurant in Japan…
#16: What’s up with the green rock?
#17: Creepy backwards head turtle?
#22: Super Mario Deer?
#27: “I’m gonna beat you up, kid”
#20 & 21: Look awfully similar…

So there you have it, number 8, as you know, was chosen as the new “unofficial” Nara 1300th anniversary mascot. I like that one a lot, though I suppose #7 was pretty sweet as well. Really, all of these are a vast improvement over creepy baby dude.

Thanks to the rockin’ folks at Rocking in Hakata for bringing it to my attention. Check it out!

inally! The time has come to vote on Nara’s New New Mascot. I got a lot of submissions for this contest, so unfortunately I had to narrow it down to my favorite top ten to make voting easier on everyone. Also, I haven’t read any of the submissions for the “continue this story” contest, but I’ll be getting to that within the week. I hope the City of Nara sees this article and realizes the error of their ways.

The mascots will be listed after the break. Afterwards, there will be a poll that will allow you to vote on your favorite! Please vote for your favorite New New Nara Mascot by using the number/name I gave each mascot (which can be seen on each image). The winner of this contest gets a brand spanking new Japanese textbook of my choosing, so make sure you vote now! Somebody’s education is on the line!

Voting will end in one week! (That’s April 17 at Midnight my time)

Vote For Your Favorite!

***(click here to see it move)***

Vote Now!

Mascot Submissions that didn’t make it:

We love you, but we could only pick ten :(

Nara-City, the capitol city of Nara prefecture, is known for it’s beautiful temples and overly aggressive biting deer monsters. This year, Nara Heijo-Kyo Capitol is celebrating its 1300th year anniversary, and will be holding a big a event. Usually when this kind of thing happens, whoever is running the event comes up with an over the top mascot that cutes you into coming. This year, the Association for Commemorative Events seems to be taking the opposite approach.

Perhaps the event is expecting too many people, and Nara is too small to support them, so they are trying to scare visitors away? What’s he doing with his hand? Trying to touch you in inappropriate places? He kind of looks like Buddha…except for the fact that he has antlers coming out of his head. I would never spend any time alone with this guy. In fact, I wonder how he eats, because no restaurant I know of would let someone with no shoes and no shirt in, even if summers do get warm. Also, I know what the thing on his forehead is supposed to be, but honestly, it just looks like a third nipple (actually, his only nipple from the looks of things) smack dab between his eyes. Nara Association of Commemorative Events, what were you thinking?

The entirety of Japan also feels like Chester (I’ve named him Chester, don’t ask) is a bit on the ugly side. When the Events board asked for suggestions on what to name him (Please pick mine!), they instead got a ton of people complaining about how ugly it was. Still, I’m interested to find out what his name ends up being. I mean, come on, he has antlers coming out of his head…

Winning a Prize (it’s a contest!)

When I saw this deer-Buddha-man, I thought: “Hey, I bet there’s someone out there who can come up with something better.” That’s when I took to drawing my own mascot.

The Monk looked up from copying Sutras. It had been three days since he had last eaten, so he thought the rumbling must be in his stomach. He went back to work, ignoring the vibrations.

Outside, a giant deer was blowing toxic green slime all over the city. When he came across a building, he would trample it with his feet, made completely of diamonds. When a building was too tall, he would simply swing his head forward and cut them in half with his kick-ass katana antlers. There was nothing this deer could not overwhelm with its sheer might and skill.

The Japanese government knew they had to call on Godzilla, which sucked because he would always destroy Tokyo before helping with anything else. After flattening the Ginza area, Godzilla was coaxed into going to Nara, where he roundhouse kicked the deer in the stomach. The deer threw up some of its radioactive slime from the impact and then sliced Godzilla in the face with his katana antlers.

This is where you come in. You have two choices (as well as two prizes). Here they are:

1) Draw your own Nara Mascot:

Prize: Japanese text book fit to your level of Japanese
Deadline: Monday, March 24, 2008 Wednesday, April 9. 12:00 noon Pacific Standard Time.

The rules are as follows. Not following the rules could make your entry less winnable:

• Must be an original drawing of some sort. Hand drawn, computer drawn, anything is okay. Just don’t steal some other mascot and put it up here.
• Has to somehow be related to either deer, a buddha, a temple, a shrine, or Nara (in some way). Basically, it has to relate to Nara in some way.
• The funnier it is, the more likely it will win.
• I will pick my favorites and then put them up in a future post for you all to vote on (to pick the final winner).

The winner of the “draw your own Nara mascot contest” will win a Japanese textbook of my choice. It really depends on what level you are, so if you win, we’ll figure it out together. I’ve got favorite text books up and down the level curve, so all people studying Japanese should apply! Just send me your image by the deadline!

2) Finish the Story

Prize: Mystery Prize worth $20+ somehow related to Japanese
Deadline: Monday, March 24, 2008 Wednesday, April 9. 12:00 noon Pacific Standard Time.

Everyone see the story underneath the image of my awesome slime-spewing deer? All you have to do is finish the story and send it in to me. Please don’t write more than two pages, single spaced. I’ll pick the ones I like the most and post them up on the 25th, as well as choose the winner for it. I can’t tell you what the prize is, but know that it’s pretty sweet. If I don’t like any of them, then I suppose it is possibe that nobody can win.

There you have it. Any questions? Please contact me. I’m really looking forward to seeing your submissions!