Chiitan

A blend of pop-culture and animistic tradition, the Yuru-chara or Japanese mascots have become key elements in the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. Omnipresent and very popular, most of them stand for a trademark, a firm, a town or a region. So they have no inherent personality, they embody the values of the society or the administrative center they are employed by. Most of them are simple characters, very laid-back, kind, friendly and often fairly clumsy. Thus, in 2013, the small town of Susaki created and unveiled its official mascot, Shinjô-kun, a mascot like an otter as an homage to the river otter, a species which was declared extinct in the 70ies. Very cute and lovely with its noodle bowl on its head, it was elected official mascot of the year 2016. So everything was fine and perfect in the sweet little world of Japanese mascots until that fateful day of 15th December 2017, when there came into the world a fairy baby otter. It has small claws, its name is Chiitan. What appe...