Kawaii Uber Alles?

Catch the Associated Press story on cute Japanese characters last week? Carried by a variety of newspapers under headlines such as "SDF Deploys Perky Mascot to Boost Cuddly Image," it portrayed the use of uber-cute Self Defense Forces mascot Prince Pickles as a tool to mask debate over deploying Japanese military forces in foreign countries. I quote: "the animated images mask real moves by Japan's leaders to bolster nationalist sentiment and flex military muscles abroad...The cutesy phenomenon also has a dark side." This view is bolstered by an odd quote from Defense Agency official Shotaro Yanagi, who proclaims that "Prince Pickles is our image character because he's very endearing, which is what Japan's military stands for."

"Endearing?" The military? Right. Based on nothing more than common sense, I'd bet ten to one this "endearing" is a mistranslation of the word 親近感 (shinkinkan), which is more like "congenial" or "a sense of affinity" (as in fitting into society), but without a transcript of the interview in Japanese, we'll never know. In any event, the really fascinating thing here is that -- in spite of the fact that the journalist appears to be Japanese -- the article's a perfect example of the suspicion with which many foreigners view the JSDF's use of cute mascots as "image characters."

Hiroko and I touch on this a bit in the introduction to Hello, Please! as well, but cutting to the chase, fears of Japan attempting to crush the world under a pair of Hello Kitty-festooned combat boots are greatly exaggerated. Super-cute mascot characters have been a phenomenon in Japan for decades. They are quite literally an inescapable presence here. Nearly any public organization or event is fair game for having its own mascot, from Japan's individual prefectures to govermental agencies to local activities and festivals. In fact, it could just as easily be argued that it'd be far more frightening if the military DIDN'T rely to some degree on cute iconography. That would signal a far greater rift with public taste and opinion than an open debate over potentially expanding the JSDF's powers.

Are Japan's recent efforts to expand its military authority a bad thing? Don't ask me. But to argue that Prince Pickles and his pals represent a disingenuous mask for the country's true motives ignores the fact that they aren't any sort of recent development. The creation of Japanese artist Taro Tomonaga, Prince Pickles and his female counterpart Miss Parsley have been used by the various branches of the JSDF for years. And here's the clincher: the pairing of cute mascots with politically sensitive contexts isn't even uniquely Japanese. If you think Prince Pickles is weird, take a gander at the cartoon mascots used by two of America's most secretive agencies, the National Security Agency and National Reconnaissance Office. If the JSDF slapping Prince Pickles on their stationery masks a resurgent Japanese nationalism, what do THESE guys stand for?

Comments

[Roger]

Wow, where to begin? First of all, who exactly are the guys in the cartoon supposed to be shaking hands with? Looks like a Shiite. I wonder how much thought went into that artistic decision. Why did they depict someone wearing these clothes rather than someone in a suit? Was the cartoonist actually trying to depict someone who represented the average Iraqi, or were they just drawing the average Japanese person's mental image of an Iraqi?

Was the cartoonist or the JSDF aware or concerned about the recent violence among Muslims concerning another set of cartoons? And why "Prince" Pickles? Does membership in the JSDF suddenly confer royalty upon you?

It would be hilarious if these little oval cartoons were the actual unit patches displayed on the soldiers' shoulders.

Too many questions. No answers. My head hurts.

[Matt]

I can't speak as to the design decision behind the logos, but the "Prince" part is easily enough explained. Prince Pickles and Miss Parsley have extensive back-stories, as detailed in the Japanese Ministry of Defense-sponsored manga "Prince Pickles: The Road to Peace." They're citizens of the Paprika Kingdom, a country that sends them abroad to study foreign military systems after fending off an invasion from the neighboring Seasame Kingdom. According to one thesis I've read on the topic, his being a prince is a metaphor for the power young generation have to determine the future of their country.

That so much thought went into Prince Pickles creation would seem to indicate an equal amount went into the illustrations above, but it's entirely possible that wasn't the case. It isn't exactly clear where they came from; they don't seem to appear on the JSDF's website but were included with the Japan Times and other newspaper editions of the original AP article.

[Richard 23]

I, for one, welcome our cartoon overlords. Great site, BTW!

Actually, though, I do hope Japan resists the temptation to militarize.

[Tim]

"The medium is the message." - Marshall McLuhan

When I went on a tour of the Japanese Defense Agency (now the Defense Ministry) a few years back, visitors were handed Prince Pickles cellphone straps and manga pamphlets featuring the mascot. Very disturbing.

Sugarcoating the military, or anything for that matter, encourages people not to think. It's more insidious than simple Orwellian propaganda - it subverts the language of childhood by aping it. What's next, Hello Kitty machine guns?

[Matt]

The US military's efforts to recruit young Americans via sponsoring videogame simulations of combat seem far more insidious to me than these otherwise innocuous mascot characters. But whatever the case is, the article's thesis that Prince Pickles was specifically created to mask Japanese military expansion is a red herring. He's been around for years.

They may seem frivolous to foreigners, but as anyone who's spent time in the country can tell you, mascots are an integral part of the fabric of modern Japanese life. When the Japanese military starts trying to make itself appear macho and aggressive rather than cute, we should start to worry.

[Kris]

Here's a great picture that I took just a block or so from my apartment here in Shimane-ken

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristopherstoker/406680664/

it has all the chibi-SDF characters...

(are they considered chibi? they look pretty chibi to me)

[Matt]

Thanks for the link. Those are actually different from Prince Pickles and his pals, who you can see here:

http://www.mod.go.jp/j/library/images/pickles/

Is there a recruitment center or other military facility near you? It's been my experience that the local offices sometimes use their own original characters in addition to the official ones.

[The Constructivist]

John Dower has looked at Peach Boy and other folklore/anime figures and Japanese militarism in a carefully historicized way. If only the Prince Pickles meme posse in the U.S. knew about his work....

[Matt]

I'll have to check that out. It's hardly a surprise, though. Nearly any character can be twisted for use as propaganda. ("Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips" comes to mind.)

[The Constructivist]

Know where I can get a copy of that? I want to show it in my Representing Japan in American Culture course next semester in Fukuoka....

[Matt]

I don't have any idea where you'd find it commercially, but a quick search shows that someone's posted it in its entirety at Google Videos:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7491012274011425982&q=nips+the+nips

I suppose this is proof that (to paraphrase the original AP article) the "cutesy phenomenon has a dark side" in America as well.

[Jay Wellington IV]

After seeing this link, I'm starting to wonder about Pickles' unsavory past:

http://tinyurl.com/2eoun7