All cuteness at Japanese mascot contest

JAPAN is undeniably the land of kawaii (cute).

Throughout the ages, the concept of cute has been apparent in many Japanese creations.

From earthenware decorated with tiny animal motifs to finely-crafted traditional festival dolls to exquisite traditional confectionery, there is cute in almost everything imaginable in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Even if the world outside Japan is not familiar with those uniquely-Japanese items, it is no stranger to Hello Kitty, Doraemon and Gudetama.

These cute characters are popular because they are adorable and evoke a warm feeling that appeals to the child in everyone. Their appeal is so great that fans are willing to spend a fortune on merchandise.

With so much cute originating from Japan, it should be of no surprise to anyone that the country is also home to thousands of mascots or yuru kyara (laidback character).

There are mascots for prefectures, cities, towns, companies, brands and more. More often than not, these mascots are the public relations figures for what they represent and usually appear at promotional events.

A typical regional mascot has designs that feature local specialties, be it food, animal or building, while a commercial mascot will have designs that indicate the product or service that the company is involved in.

 

Grand Prix final

What may surprise non-Japanese is that these mascots often take part in competitions.

A major one that takes place annually since 2010 is the Yuru Kyara Grand Prix, an online contest to determine the most popular regional and commercial mascots.

I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Yuru Kyara Grand Prix final, held in Ehime prefecture on the southern island of Shikoku.

Matsuyama City, which is famous for the 3,000-year-old Dogo Onsen hot spring, played host to the two-day event for the first time.

The city’s spacious Shiroyama Park on a clear Sunday morning in early November was buzzing with excitement as people of all ages and backgrounds streamed in through the gates. Everyone was hoping to meet and support their favourite mascots.

After purchasing an entry ticket from the ticketing booth, I joined the long queue to the park.

It was almost pandemonium with visitors shrieking kawaii as they went after mascots of all shapes and colours to take photos. The mascots were so lively in displaying their own characteristics that one could almost forget there is a dedicated worker under each costume.

Even though I am familiar with many regional mascots, I was still awed by the sight of all the mascots that were present.

As expected, merchandise was sold at the mascots’ respective booths. Mascot representatives were holding out ballot boxes, loudly soliciting last-minute votes for their mascots.

Besides votes from the online voting period that ran from July to October, the final ranking of the mascots was also determined by the additional votes they get on both days of the Grand Prix.

 

Special mascot

A ballot paper came with the purchase of the entry ticket, so with mine in hand, I went looking for the one special mascot who would be getting my vote that day.

It did not take me long to find the booth. Without hesitation, I dropped the ballot paper into the box for Shimanekko, the
yellow-cat mascot of Shimane prefecture with its iconic hat in the shape of the ancient Izumo Taisha Shrine.

It has been my favourite yuru kyara since I first saw it in a Japanese friend’s photo album of his travels to Shimane prefecture.

Strolling through the park, I observed that the mascot ambassadors, or past year winners who are no longer eligible to be in the voting this year, were among the most popular mascots with endless queues for photo opportunities.

These were Kumamon of Kumamoto prefecture, Bary-san (Imabari City, Ehime), Sanomaru (Sano City, Tochigi), Gunma-chan (Gunma prefecture) and Shusse Daimyo Ieyasu-kun (Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka).

Also popular and not participating in the polls this year was Mikyan, the host mascot. It is a dog mascot with an orange face, because Ehime is the production hub of mandarin oranges.

Besides mascot-spotting, there were many activities happening all around to keep visitors occupied while waiting for the result announcement and awards ceremony. Food stalls were aplenty, and I was spoilt for choice during lunch time.

 

Much awaited moment

The sky turned ominous just after lunch, casting shadows on the park. The atmosphere became much cooler. While I welcomed the change, I anxiously hoped that it would not rain.

Soon, the much-awaited moment arrived. Everyone got as close to the main stage as they possibly could as the emcees took to the stage.

One of them was Yufu Terashima, a pop singer who often features mascots in her music videos. Her appearance drew squeals of delight from the crowd.

To kick things off was Yuru Kyara for Children, a category started last year. From my understanding, it awards mascots that had contributed to traffic safety awareness for children. Tochisuke of Tochigi City was placed first in this category.

In the commercial mascot category, Japan Post’s brown bear mascot Posukuma was first.

Second place went to Konnosuke, Nitroplus’ fox mascot who is the game navigator for the popular online game Touken Ranbu, while third was Resonya, a green cat mascot of the banking group Resona.

The category that people were most excited about was the regional mascot category. There was obviously a lot of hometown pride going on, judging from the conversations that went on around me.

 

A surprise

The champion for Yuru Kyara Grand Prix 2016 was quite a surprise. Shinjou-kun of Susaki, a small coastal city in the neighbouring prefecture of Kochi, garnered a total of 4,345,560 votes.

The river otter mascot must have charmed the nation with its bashful smile and its hat in the shape of nabeyaki ramen (noodles served in hotpot), Susaki’s specialty dish.

Second place was Hanipon of Honjo City in Saitama prefecture. Its design is the laughing face of a haniwa (clay figure), one of the ancient relics that the city is famous for.

Third place went to one of the cutest mascots I have ever seen — never heard of it until that day. Chuppi of Soja City in Okayama prefecture looked like a child-mouse in diapers. I did not get the connection to the city it represents.

My favourite Shimanekko was ranked seventh. Not too bad, considering there were 1,421 mascot entries this year.

After prizes and medals were given out and official photos taken, another important announcement was made. Next year’s Yuru Kyara Grand Prix will be hosted by Kuwana City in Mie prefecture.

Then, it was the end. The massive crowd slowly trickled out of the exit in an organised manner typical of the
Japanese.

Just above the park, Matsuyama Castle’s white walls glistened in the late afternoon sun. The weather had been good despite the dark clouds.

That day, I had personally witnessed the power of kawaii that could enthrall thousands and influence human actions.

Young or old, professional or layman, everyone came and embraced the cuteness around them with no reservation.

So much cuteness in one spot was not awkward or overwhelming.

Instead, it was almost restorative when weary expressions turned into smiles after encountering all the endearing mascots.

The experience was indeed eye-opening and soul-soothing.