Map of Japan with highlight on 43 Kumamoto prefecture

Kumamon is a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

created by the government of

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign created to draw tourists to the region after the

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima (Kagoshima-Chuo Sta ...

line opened. Kumamon subsequently became nationally popular, and in late 2011, was voted top in a nationwide survey of mascots, collectively known as ''

yuru-chara is a Japanese term for a category of mascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their '' kawaii'' (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs th ...

'', garnering over 280,000 votes. Following his success in the contest, Kumamoto earned (, , ) in merchandising revenue for the first half of 2012, after having only earned (, , ) throughout all of 2011. Kumamon enjoys tremendous popularity throughout the world.

Economic impact

In just two years, Kumamon has generated US$1.2 billion in economic benefits for his region, including tourism and product sales, as well as US$90 million worth of publicity, according to a recent

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...

study. Sales of Kumamon items have reached ¥29.3 billion in 2012, up from ¥2.5 billion in 2011. The Bank of Japan also estimated that Kumamon generated in revenue during a two-year period starting from 2011.

Success

A large part of Kumamon's success can be attributed to its cuteness. The unusual marketing strategy of free licensing has also contributed to Kumamon's commercial success; Kumamoto Prefecture grants usage rights for free to any individual group as long as the products promote goods and services from the prefecture. In 2018, this license was extended to foreign businesses, with aims to both boost worldwide recognition and increase tourism to the prefecture. Governor Ikuo Kabashima has said that he "want to spread the Kumamon brand to the world."

Cultural impact

This mascot appears in a minor cameo in the 2014 video game '' Yo-Kai Watch 2'', and made an appearance in '' Yo-kai Watch: The Movie'', following the main characters (Whisper, Nate, and Jibanyan) around. Kumamon has gained popularity as an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

when images of the character, usually around a large

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

, were captioned with text reading "Why? For the glory of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

, of course!". Since 3 September 2018, Kumamon began regularly in-character videos uploading to its

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

account.

References

External links

* {{Yuru-chara Advertising characters Bear mascots Fictional bears Anthropomorphic bears Kumamon Yuru-chara Mascots introduced in 2010 2010 establishments in Japan

Economic impact

Success

Cultural impact

See also

References

External links