Kumamon

Kumamon (Japaneseくまモン) is a mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan. The figure was created by the artist Manabu Mizuno. It was first created in 2010 for a campaign called Kumamoto Surprise. Kumamon was nationally popular, and he won the end of 2011 a nationwide vote on other mascots, which were collectively known as Yuru Chara.

Its name comes from a dialect " Kumamotomon ", which means " a person born in Kumamoto ." Its black appearance is from the Kumamoto Castle and its shape as a bear it that this is the meaning of kuma. The sac-like black bear the official representative of Kumamoto Prefecture, made ​​its debut in 2010, shortly before the opening of the Kyūshū Shinkansen high-speed line. In 2011 he was awarded the Yuru Chara Grand Prix.

July 2013 the bear was the mascot of the Japan Expo in Paris. Japan Expo is the largest event for Japanese culture and entertainment in Europe. The festival, which attracted with its 13th edition last year over 219,000 visitors, has become known far beyond the borders of Europe.

The German company Steiff has released the Kumamon Teddy Bear in May 2013.

Kumamon the most popular figure in Japan has become after the award ceremony. Sales of around 6000 products, the mascot bear topped 2.93 billion yen in 2012 already. The first teddy bear series of 1500 pieces, the Steiff was hung out after a few hours.