# Yuru-chara (Japanese Local Mascot Design)

> Japan's local mascots: characters commissioned by prefectures, towns and tourism bodies to stand for a place, named yuru-kyara ('loose characters') by the illustrator Jun Miura around 2000. Each body is built from a local product, landmark or legend, such as Hikonyan's samurai helmet or Barysan's towel belly band, drawn as one frontal figure with a big head and a few flat colours, and lived out as a walk-about costume. Hikonyan (2007) set off the boom; Kumamon (2010), licensed free for goods that promote Kumamoto, made it an industry.

- Period: 2000–present
- Where: East Asia
- Origin: Japan: mascots commissioned by prefectures, cities, towns and tourism bodies (and a few unofficial, citizen-made ones) to promote a place, its products and events. The illustrator and essayist Jun Miura named them yuru-kyara, short for 'loose mascot characters', around 2000, reportedly after seeing Bunkakkī, mascot of the 2000 National Cultural Festival in Hiroshima, and registered the word as a trademark with the publisher Fusōsha in November 2004. Mascots of 1980s regional expositions, such as Tokachi-kun (1982), are counted as forerunners. The boom followed Hikone's Hikonyan (2007 castle festival), the first Yuru-kyara Matsuri in Hikone (October 2008) and the Yuru-chara Grand Prix public vote (2010–2020).
- Branch: Postmodern
- Also known as: Yuru-kyara (ゆるキャラ), Gotōchi kyara (ご当地キャラ, local characters), Japanese local mascots, Yurukyara
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/yuru-chara/

## Use it with care

Mascots are owned designs: Kumamon's copyright is held by Kumamoto Prefecture, which allows free use in Japan only with its permission and a displayed permit number, and Hikone and Hikonyan's illustrator fought over the character's rights from 2007 through mediation, a 2011 court ruling and a 2012 settlement, so invent an original character for each place and agree rights with the illustrator first. Keep sacred figures out of the joke: Buddhist groups in Nara objected that Sento-kun, a Buddha-like child with deer antlers, insulted the Buddha. And do not use a cute mascot to soften a contested public risk, as with the tritium mascot that Japan's Reconstruction Agency made to promote releasing treated water from Fukushima, pulled a day after its release in April 2021.

## How it works

- Build the character from the place: make one local product, landmark or legend its body, headgear or attribute, as Hikonyan wears a helmet modelled on an Ii family helmet, Barysan a crown for the Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge and Fukaya's Fukka-chan two green onions.
- Draw it loose rather than slick: a big head on a body two or three heads tall, plain round eyes, a simple silhouette and a little awkwardness left in, so it reads as the town's own friend, not a corporate logo. Unofficial, citizen-made mascots such as the shrieking Funassyi, and counter-mascots such as Manto-kun, made in protest at Sento-kun, and its rival Nāmu-kun, are the noisy exception.
- Hold the colour to a few flat fields, usually one body colour and one or two accents, as Kumamon's black body and red cheeks, so the figure is recognisable on a banner, a sticker and a costume alike.
- Design for the walk-about costume: one frontal figure, isolated on a plain ground, whose shapes survive being sewn into a kigurumi and photographed at festivals, stations and events.
- Name it with a pun on the place or its product and an affectionate ending (Hikonyan from 'nyan', a cat's meow; Barysan from Imabari; Funassyi from nashi, pear), and letter the name in rounded, hand-drawn kana beside the figure.
- Let the community use it: license the drawing for goods, packaging and signs that promote the place, as Kumamoto Prefecture lets domestic makers use Kumamon free of charge with its permission.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (defining)
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (occasional)
- [Repetition & rhythm](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/repetition-and-rhythm/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (characteristic)
- [Rounded sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rounded-sans/) (characteristic)
- [Eclectic mixing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/eclectic-mixing/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (characteristic)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Full polychrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-polychrome/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (defining)
- [Rounded & pill](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rounded-and-pill/) (defining)
- [Distortion & exaggeration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/distortion-and-exaggeration/) (characteristic)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)

### Ornament
- [Folk & sacred symbols](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/folk-and-sacred-symbols/) (characteristic)
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic)
- [Emblems & badges](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/emblems-and-badges/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Comic & cartoon](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/comic-and-cartoon/) (defining)
- [Flat vector illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-vector-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (occasional)
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Textile & craft](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/textile-and-craft/) (characteristic)
- [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (characteristic)
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (characteristic)
- [Motion & broadcast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/motion-and-broadcast/) (occasional)
- [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Communal & popular](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/communal-and-popular/) (defining)
- [Playful & witty](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/playful-and-witty/) (defining)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (characteristic)

Avoids: Naturalistic depiction, Non-representational, Gradients, Iridescent & holographic, Fluorescent & neon, Chrome & 3D render, Glitch, Experimental & distorted, Broken grid, Rebellious & subversive

Palette: #fbf8ef, #1a1a1a, #e3242b, #ffd23f, #4fa64a, #6ec1e4

Typefaces: Hand-drawn kana name lettering in thick, rounded strokes set beside the figure, spelling the mascot's name in hiragana or katakana, as in くまモン, ひこにゃん or バリィさん, Maru gothic (rounded gothic) Japanese type, such as Morisawa's Shin Maru Go, for captions, event banners and goods, Plain kaku gothic (square gothic) for the prefecture or city name and the official text around the mascot

Known for: Hikonyan (Hikone, Shiga): a white cat in a samurai helmet modelled on an Ii family helmet in the Hikone Castle museum, after the legend of a white cat that beckoned the daimyō Ii Naotaka to shelter just before lightning struck; drawn by the illustrator Mohelon (もへろん), design settled in February 2006, image character of the castle's 400th anniversary festival (March–November 2007); first Yuru-chara Grand Prix, 2010, against 168 other mascots; Kumamon (Kumamoto Prefecture, announced 5 March 2010): a black bear with red cheeks by Manabu Mizuno of good design company, proposed alongside the logo he had been asked for by Kundō Koyama's 'Kumamoto Surprise' campaign for the full opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen's Kagoshima Route (12 March 2011); black because the kanji for bear looks dark and Kumamoto Castle is black; first in the 2011 Grand Prix with 287,315 votes among 349 characters; Sento-kun (Nara, announced February 2008): a child with deer antlers by the sculptor Satoshi Yabuuchi for the 1300th anniversary of the Heijō-kyō capital (2010); called creepy and, by Buddhist groups, insulting to the Buddha, it provoked the rival unofficial mascots Manto-kun and Nāmu-kun (June 2008); Barysan (Imabari, Ehime, May 2009): drawn at the Imabari printer Daiichi Insatsu for the Imabari Regional Tourism Association; a bird for the city's yakitori, with a crown for the Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge, a belly band of Imabari towel and a ship-shaped wallet for its shipyards; Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2012 with 547,284 votes; Funassyi (Funabashi, Chiba, November 2011): an unofficial yellow pear fairy drawn by a local retailer who later wore the costume himself; unlike most silent mascots it speaks, shrieks and jumps; Yuru-chara Grand Prix (2010–2020): the annual public vote, which grew from 169 entrants in 2010 to 1,727 in 2015, won by Hikonyan, Kumamon, Barysan, Sanomaru, Gunma-chan and others; succeeded by Yuruverse in 2023

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Kawaii Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/kawaii.md) (1970–present)
- Alike in its design choices: [Ukrainian Wartime Graphics (Saint Javelin, War Stamps and Be Brave Like Ukraine)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/ukrainian-wartime-graphics.md) (2022–present), 69% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Turkish Modernist Poster & Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/turkish-modernist-graphics.md) (1959–2000), 68% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Newtro (Korean New-Retro)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/newtro.md) (2017–present), 67% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Thaw Modernism (Soviet and Czechoslovak)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/thaw-modernism.md) (1956–1968), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Push Pin Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/push-pin.md) (1954–1980), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Pardhan Gond Painting (Jangarh Kalam)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/gond-painting.md) (1981–present), 63% alike

## Sources

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuru-chara
- ゆるキャラ, Japanese Wikipedia (Jun Miura's coinage, the 2004 trademark, his three criteria, the Grand Prix 2010–2020): https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%86%E3%82%8B%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%A9
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumamon
- くまモン, Japanese Wikipedia (announcement on 5 March 2010, Mizuno and Koyama, the colour, the 2011 Grand Prix, the licensing system): https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8F%E3%81%BE%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3
- good design company, くまモン project page: https://www.gooddesigncompany.com/projects/ewfn25nbd8
- People's Graphic Design Archive, 'Kumamon as a visual branding for Kumamoto prefecture in 2010': https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/21660/kumamon-as-a-visual-branding-for-kumamoto-prefecture-in-2010
- 'Getting to Know Kumamon, Japan's Superstar Mascot', Nippon.com, 28 September 2021: https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b02503/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikonyan
- ひこにゃん, Japanese Wikipedia (the illustrator Mohelon, the 2006 design, the 2007 festival, the rights dispute): https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%B2%E3%81%93%E3%81%AB%E3%82%83%E3%82%93
- せんとくん, Japanese Wikipedia: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%9B%E3%82%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%8F%E3%82%93
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sento-kun
- バリィさん, Japanese Wikipedia: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%90%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A3%E3%81%95%E3%82%93
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funassyi
- Debra J. Occhi, 'Wobbly Aesthetics, Performance, and Message: Comparing Japanese Kyara with their Anthropomorphic Forebears', Asian Ethnology 71(1), 2012, pp. 109–132
- Joshua Paul Dale, 'Cute Character Culture' lesson plan, Japan Past & Present, 31 October 2024 (bibliography incl. Occhi on Kumamon and on the scrapped tritium mascot): https://japanpastandpresent.org/en/teaching-aids/lesson-plans/cute-character-culture
- Hong Kong Baptist University FactCheck, '[TRUE] Did the Japanese government design a mascot to promote the safety of treated "radioactive wastewater"?', 16 April 2021 (the Reconstruction Agency released the tritium mascot on 13 April 2021 and removed it on 14 April): https://factcheck.hkbu.edu.hk/home/fc_report_eng/true-did-the-japanese-government-design-a-mascot-to-promote-the-safety-of-treated-radioactive-wastewater/
- Justin McCurry, 'Japan scraps mascot promoting Fukushima wastewater dump', The Guardian, 15 April 2021: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/15/japan-scraps-mascot-promoting-fukushima-wastewater-dump

---

From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Yuru-chara (Japanese Local Mascot Design)”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/yuru-chara/