what what: idle idol

‘higuchi-san’

greeting you with large moving claws from on top of buildings, outside shops with a fist raised to the sky and in restaurant windows staring unblinkingly, the japanese mascot, also referred to as ‘idle idol‘ is almost unavoidable. british design studio what what consisting of twins john and edward harrison have been documenting these 3d characters found all over japan, discovering antique advertising characters, modern mass-produced mascots and unique one-off designs.

‘higuchi-san’

taking after the appearance of the company president ‘higuchi-san’ is the mascot for higuchi pharmacy.

‘colonel sanders’

in japan, KFC is an important place for christmas. many families visit the restaurant to eat the popular christmas meal of deep fried chicken. every year the colonel is dressed as father christmas to get people in the festive spirit. throughout the year ‘colonel sanders’ is dressed in other seasonal and unique outfits.

‘colonel sanders’ in a japanese kimono

‘colonel sanders’ as santa claus

‘karuojisan’, mascot for a brand of chips

‘gundam’ located in odaiba to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the gundam anime

recognized as the pioneers in the creation of robot characters, the japanese culture is saturated with robot mascots.

left: ‘gundam’ mascot at shinagawa right: ‘gundam’ mascot outside bandai offices in asakusa

made from pot and pans, this robot stands outside of a kitchen ware shop on kappabashi in asakusa, japan

robot mascot on kappabashi in asakusa, japan

‘sukare-chan’

‘sukare-chan’ is the mascot for yokosuka navy curry and stands outside the yokosuka train station.

‘totoro’ inflatable mascot at the tokyo international anime fair 2010

‘lip licking pig’ mascot

‘lip licking pig’ mascot, found outside restaurants cheerfully encouraging customers to take a bite, can be seen all around japan. pig mascots are found outside clothes shops in yokohama’s china town, above ramen restaurant door ways, outside a nikuman stall, made into a rubbish bin, disguised as a lantern and even outside a hairdressers.

‘sato-chan and satoko-chan’

‘sato-chan and satoko-chan’ are mascots found very commonly at the entrance of drug stores. much like two stone lions guarding the entrance to a temple they stand on eitherside of the doors.

‘sato-chan and satoko- chan’

‘tawawa-chan’

found inside the kyoto tower, ‘tawawa-chan’ is one of many japanese tower mascots. almost all the observation towers in japan have their own unique character representing them.

‘noppon brothers’ at tokyo tower

‘elephant slides’ at samezu, tokyo

in parks all across japan, the elephant has provided park designers the opportunity to transform boring park slides into kid friendly fun objects.

triple elephant slide at toyonaka city, osaka japan image ©  matsuyuki

an old american slide from the 1950s found in hartford, wisconsin image © nels p. olsen

an elephant slide that defies the convention of using the slide in place of the trunk image © ed.ward

‘idle idol: the japanese mascot’

‘idle idol: the japanese mascot‘, is a book recently released by what what showcasing the culmination of their research. it presents quirky and cute mascot figures, divided into thematic chapters: hero, legend, spokesperson, tv star, entertainer, chef, doctor, meeter and greeter. the photographs are accompanied by the stories that have resulted in these creations, ranging from japanese myths to corporate identities and sporting fan fanaticism.