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Yuru-kyara (Japanese:ゆるキャラ,Hepburn:yuru kyara) is a Japanese term for a category ofmascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by theirkawaii (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that represent local culture, history or produce. They may be created by local government or other organizations to stimulatetourism and economic development, or created by a company to build on theircorporate identity. They may appear ascostumed characters (orkigurumi) at promotional events and festivals.Yuru-kyara has become a popular and lucrative business, with character-driven sales reaching nearly $16 billion in Japan in 2012.[1]
Popularyuru-kyara includeKumamon,Funassyi, andChiitan, who have gained international recognition and have reached celebrity status in Japan.[1][2]
The nameyuru-kyara is acontraction ofyurui mascotcharacter (ゆるいマスコットキャラクター,yurui masukotto kyarakutā). The adjectiveyurui (緩い) generally means "loose", but in this application it has a number of connotations including "gentle" or "weak",[3] "laid-back",[1] light-hearted or "unimportant".[4]
The termgotōchi-kyara (ご当地キャラ,gotōchi-kyara), meaning "local characters", has also become popular in reference specifically to local mascots,[5] which is the large majority ofyuru-kyara.
The term was coined by illustrator and cultural criticJun Miura [ja] in the early 2000s, and despite the negative connotations the title has been embraced by fans and promoters.[3] Miura has stated that there are three main requirements that make ayuru-kyara:[6]
Some of these imply that the mascot must exist inkigurumi form.
Yuru-kyara are often designed by amateur artists, and many designs are seen as naive or poorly executed,[7] or can appear to oversimplify what they represent.[8] These characteristics generally add to their appeal,[4] but occasionally can cause the opposite reaction: The unveiling ofSento-kun in 2008 created a lot of negative publicity, since he was regarded as "ugly" and even "blasphemous".[9]
These "amateurish" or flawed aspects are what setyuru-kyara apart from professionally created corporate mascots (e.g.Domo-kun), professional sports mascots (such as those ofNippon Professional Baseball teams), and commercially oriented characters such asHello Kitty andRilakkuma - all of which are also commonplace in Japan.
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The popularity of mascots likeyuru-kyara in Japan has been linked to historical emotional bonds to non-human characters, such as in ancientpolytheism.[2] There are also many differentyōkai in Japanese folklore, and certain types ofyōkai such askappa andtanuki have been the basis for severalyuru-chara designs.
Although the concept had been around for some time, the start of the"yuru-kyara boom" is credited toHikonyan,[4] who was created in 2007 to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding ofHikone Castle and created a significant increase in tourism and merchandise sales for castle and the city.
Since then, the number ofyuru-kyara increased throughout the country. Festivals and other events dedicated to these mascots were created, such as theYuru-charaMatsuri (ゆるキャラまつり) held in various locations since 2008. Some mascots have also appeared in international conventions, such as Funassyi and Kumamon in the 2014Japan Expo in Paris, France; and a small group in the 2014 Japan Matsuri in London.[10]
Gotōchi-kyara Catalogue (ご当地キャラカタログ,gotōchi kyara katarogu) is an online database which collects information aboutgotōchi-chara,yuru-chara andlocal heroes from user submissions. In October 2014 it surpassed 3,000 character entries.[11]
The proliferation ofyuru-kyara in certain regions has been perceived to be problematic by some people. In 2014, theOsaka government expressed concern that there were too many local mascots, and it was diluting brand identity.[2]
Chiitan, an unofficial mascot forSusaki,Kōchi Prefecture, became popular due to its chaotic and often violent behavior, which generated significant controversy.[12]
2010 saw the start of the Yuru-chara Grand Prix (ゆるキャラグランプリ,yuru kyara guranpuri), an annual event where the most popular mascot is determined by public voting. Previous winners include Hikonyan and Kumamon.
There were 1,727 entrants in the 2015 Grand Prix, over ten times the number in the first contest. 1092 entries consisted ofgotōchi-kyara (local characters), and 635 were corporate or other characters. Results were announced on 23 November with 50.57 million total internet votes (over twice the number of votes in 2014) and almost seven million votes going to the winning mascot,Shusse Daimyō Ieyasu-kun. Around 77,000 people attended the awards event inHamamatsu.[13][14]
| Year | Entrants | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 169 | Hikonyan (Hikone, Shiga) |
| 2011 | 349 | Kumamon (Kumamoto Prefecture) |
| 2012 | 865 | Barysan [ja] (Imabari, Ehime) |
| 2013 | 1,580 | Sanomaru [ja] (Sano, Tochigi) |
| 2014 | 1,699 | Gunma-chan (Gunma Prefecture) |
| 2015 | 1,727 | Shusse Daimyō Ieyasu-kun [ja] (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka) |
| 2016 | 1,421 | Shinjou-kun [ja] (Susaki, Kōchi) |
| 2017 | 1,158 | Unari-kun [ja] (Narita, Chiba) |
| 2018 | ? | Kapal [ja] (Shiki, Saitama)[15] |
| 2019 | ? | Arukuma [ja] (Nagano Prefecture)[16] |
| 2020 | ? | Takata no Yume-chan [ja] (Rikuzentakata, Iwate)[17] |
In 2023, the event was rebranded toYuruverse (ゆるバース,yurubāsu) and a partnership was announced with Spiral.AI, agenerative artificial intelligence company, with plans to "enable voice-communication in themetaverse" and for mascots to engage with audiences asVTubers.[18]
Yuru-kyara gatherings have been involved in creating twoGuinness World Records:
Yuru-chara try to portray some aspect of the place they are representing, be it local produce, a historical figure or legend, local wildlife, architecture or geography. This is often incorporated into their physical appearance in an amusing or unusual way, e.g. Fukka-chan (ふっかちゃん), mascot ofFukaya has twogreen onions sprouting out of its head (green onions being a popular product of Fukaya). Their name may also be aplay on words, such as withKumamon.
In public appearances, mostyuru-chara are silent, and usually act in a playful or childish manner. Some exceptions includeFunassyi[1] andChicchai Ossan (ちっちゃいおっさん, small middle-aged man) who do talk in character,[21] but neither are officially affiliated with any local government.
Manyyuru-kyara have various associated merchandise as an alternative source of income. These typically includestuffed toys,keychains, sticker sets forLine (a popularinstant messaging system in Japan) andstationery.[22] As an acknowledgement of the large adult fanbase ofyuru-chara, there are also some more adult-oriented products such assake[23] and themedcredit cards.[24]
Yuru-kyara often have a theme song with related dance routine, such as Kumamon'sKumamon Taisō (くまモン体操) which has seen over 2.6 million views onYouTube.[25]Funassyi has also released twonovelty singles in 2013 and 2014, and an album in 2014.[26] A band also formed in 2013 calledGCB47 [ja] (ご当地キャラクター・バンド・よんじゅうなな,gotōchi character band yonjū-nana) - the name being a play on the groupAKB48 and the number ofprefectures in Japan - which consists of sixyuru-chara who play instruments live in costume and singer/guitarist Yohsuke Ishida. They have also released a single,[27] and often perform atyuru-kyara events.[28]
In 2014,Bandai Namco Games released thevideo gameGotōchi Testsudō: Gotōchi-chara to Nipponzenkoku no Tabi (ご当地鉄道 ～ご当地キャラと日本全国の旅～,Local Railway: A journey through Japan with gotōchi-chara) onNintendo 3DS andWii U.[29] It is asugoroku-styleparty game where players travel around Japan and encountergotōchi-chara (120 are featured in the game) along with local products and specialities. The characterOjapon (おじゃポン) was created to promote the game, and was entered into the 2014 Yuru-chara Grand Prix.
Funassyi and Kumamon have made appearances in 2014 releases of theTaiko no Tatsujin video games. Kumamon also featured in the 2014 3DS gameYo-Kai Watch 2.
