There is currently a lot of noise in the media about Japan’s relative standing in the world declining in various ways. On the other hand there seems to be a huge Japanese boom happening around the world in some way. Is it good cuisine? The great service without a tip? Is it the variety of tourist destinations that are rich in nature? I would say all things are true.
I really would like to tell you one of our beloved Japanese charms is pop culture. There are tons of cute cartoons, anime, movies, pop music and mascot characters. But they’re not just cute. Despite their cute appearance, some of them have strong wills and messages that continue to attract people.
Today I’d like to introduce to you all the local mascot, the pear fairy, “Funassyi” in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture. Mascots or local characters usually promote information or local specialties of a company or prefectural governments.
Most of them belong to companies or prefectural governments. When they appear on a show, they don’t speak for themselves, and their companions explain things on their behalf. Funassyi has unintentionally broken common sense and made a huge leap forward. Funassyi is a pear fairy, so he has no gender but for convenience, we will call him “he.”
First of all, I have to tell you about the Great Tohoku Earthquake which occurred in March, 2011. The whole world was shocked. Day after day, the media reported on the tsunami disaster caused by the earthquake and the nuclear power plant accident. We were exhausted by grief and fear. At that time, when the whole of Japan was enveloped in an atmosphere of despair. In such a situation, Funassyi came out to cheer up people who had a disaster. He first appeared in the human world on November 22, 2011, on Twitter. (Oh dear! That’s my birthday!) His humorous yet passionate message of encouragement lit up the hearts of people. He came into the world in 3D in April 2012, but he was initially ignored by most. He applied to Funabashi City to become an official mascot. But he was turned down. So he wasn’t able to participate in the official event.
One day, his friend who is a local character invited him to the event. He participated in the event happily. But he didn’t have the budget to hire a companion to speak on his behalf. So he tried to speak directly to the customers. This was a big hit with the audience. He repeated this over and over again. It didn’t take long for people to become fascinated by his witty and humorous conversation. During that time, his lively jumping while appearing as an extra in commercials was featured on a TV program, and he quickly became popular.
In 2013, before he had his big break, he donated some sewing machines to a sewing workshop in Miyagi Prefecture, which was affected by the earthquake, to have them make his goods. He provided a purpose in life and a job to people who had been affected by the disaster and had almost lost hope. The sewing machines were covered by a portion of the sales from the DVDs he has produced of his own interviews and reports on Japan’s tourist spots.
He has been revitalizing towns all over the country and dedicating some of his money to charity work projects. Since 2013, even now, every year, he has also been playing Santa Claus on Christmas Day at several day care centers handing out presents to the children. It was one of his dreams of what he wanted to do, when he could become somebody. On top of that he has donated the royalties from the calendar he has been publishing since 2014 to help pay for the tuition fees of children who lost their parents in the earthquake disaster. After they graduated from college and no longer needed the support, he donated it to the United Nations WFP Association. This became emergency aid for Ukraine. Furthermore in April 2016, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Kumamoto and Oita Prefecture. Some parts of Kumamoto Castle were especially destroyed.
In the same year, he held first concert with his band at Budokan 武道館. After the concert, he donated his performance fee and merchandise royalties, totaling 7.3 million yen, to Kumamoto Prefecture. I went to see this concert and was moved to tears by his wholehearted performance. He created a system where we, the fans, could make a donation when we bought his merchandise. In 2016, he opened his official website, Channel 274, and he is currently operating with an office, but up until that point, he had accomplished this feat on his own.
As I watch him in action, one thing comes to mind. This is a line from the American movie Spider-Man: “With great power comes great responsibility” He has accomplished many of these feats naturally, without his own profit or arrogance. I think that is what continues to fascinate those around him. These stories only scratch the surface. He is a local character, a multi-talented, entrepreneur, rock star, voice actor, and a lover of Japanese swords which is a part of Japanese culture. He is a superstar with so many different faces that it’s impossible to mention them all. Let me talk about Funassyi again next time. Thank you so much for reading my article.
I’m a forever beginner English learner. I am trying to be better, but I haven’t made any major changes. Despite this, there is a lot I would like to tell you. Please read my story. Thank you.
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