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Article

Open Access

Who Is Hikonyan? The Phenomenon of Japanese Yuru-Chara

Author(s)

Jillian Rae Suter

Full-Text PDF Download XML 5179 Views

DOI:10.17265/2159-5526/2016.12.004

Affiliation(s)

Keio University, Japan

ABSTRACT

In 2007, Hikonyan was the first winner of the Japan-wide “yuru-chara” or “yurui mascot character” competition. Since then, yuru-chara, or unsophisticated characters, have become a part of the mascot character marketing industry worth over a billion Japanese yen. However, they have not expanded far outside of Japan. This paper looks at yuru-chara through articles, documentation, literature, and interviews to explore their history and status in Japan, and attempts to explain their rapid rise within the country as well as their lack of presence outside of the country. These resources help explain the design choices of yuru-chara, the reasoning behind those choices, and what they mean within Japan’s society. They additionally explain how yuru-chara impact the Japanese market. The paper also explores some Japanese branding and how yuru-chara can fit into the concept of the Cool Japan Project. Finally, it explores some possibilities of expanding the concept of yuru-chara to international markets and how they could successfully work abroad.

KEYWORDS

Cool Japan, branding, authenticity, international markets, mascot characters

Cite this paper

Sociology Study, December 2016, Vol. 6, No. 12, 775-782

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