Rilakkuma
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese character produced by the San-X
San-X
is a Japanese company that specializes in the creation, production and marketing of goods featuring cute characters such as Tarepanda, Rilakkuma, Kogepan and Afro Ken. The characters are usually anthropomorphic representations of animals or inanimate objects; the character Tissue-san was modelled...
company who debuted in 2003. Rilakkuma and Tarepanda
Tarepanda
Tarepanda is a cute panda character owned by the company San-X . The term "tare" means "lazy" or "droopy" in Japanese.-Creation:Tarepanda is licensed by San-X , the company that introduced Tarepanda stickers in 1995...
, another San-X character, have been described as "huge hits in Japan" by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. As of May 2010, Rilakkuma ranked as the fifth most popular character in Japan in a survey of the Character Databank.
The San-X company puts staff members under obligation to create one cute character per month. Aki Kondo (also the creater of Okutan to Dannachan) saw a TV show about dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. She wished to own a pet because at that time she was very busy working and hoped for a more relaxing life. Rilakkuma is an embodiment of her wish.
In July 2009, Bandai released an exclusive edition of Rilakkuma-themed notebook computers.
Character
Rilakkuma mysteriously appears in the female office worker Kaoru's apartment one day. He is a soft toy bear who has apparently decided to take up residence there. On his back is a zipper which when opened reveals a light blue polka dot patterned material. The contents or nature of this zipper is unknown.He was first seen in a series of picture books called Rilakkuma Seikatsu produced by San-X but since has become equally popular as a soft-toy character. In the picture books, he is often seen dressed up in a variety of costumes such as a kappa costume. In addition, it is implied that even in his usual appearance, his entire lower body is a costume, which he will often replace when it gets old or dirty (Rilakkuma is frequently seen sitting around waiting for suits that look exactly like him to dry on the clothes line). However, it is not clear whether his head is also part of his costume.
His favorite foods are dango
Dango
is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko , related to mochi. It is often served with green tea.Dango are eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons...
, pancake
Pancake
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...
s, omurice
Omurice
Omurice, sometimes spelled , is an example of contemporary Japanese fusion cuisine consisting of an omelette made with fried rice and usually topped with ketchup. Omu and raisu being contractions of the words omelette and rice, the name is a wasei-eigo...
and custard pudding. True to his name, he enjoys relaxing and his favorite things include sleeping, lying around, watching television, listening to music and soaking in hot springs
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
. He loves using Kaoru's yellow bean bag pillow, although there has been some controversy whether or not the yellow bean bag pillow is in fact Kiiroitori. Despite some confusion that often occurs relating to Rilakkuma and his friend Korilakkuma's genders, it is stated on the San-X site that he is in fact a male, while Korilakkuma is indeed female.
Korilakkuma and Kiiroitori
Rilakkuma is often accompanied by Korilakkuma, who is a smaller child-like white bear with a mischievous personality, and Kiiroitori, a yellow chickChicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
who plays a tsukkomi role (considered to be the smarter, more logical one who criticizes others for making mistakes). Kiiroitori is basically the opposite of Rilakkuma because of the bird's hard-working nature and love of cleaning. Kiiroitori is Kaoru's pet chick. Kiiroitori is always telling Rilakkuma off for being so lazy. Korilakkuma frequently plays pranks on Rilakkuma while he is sleeping, such as drawing on him, putting headphones on him and sewing odd color patches on his bear suits. Most of the time, Korilakkuma doesn't say a word, but sometimes she imitates what Rilakkuma is saying.
Korilakkuma also has the appearance of a bear, but also has a red button attached to her chest, and so it seems that she is also not a real bear. However, unlike Rilakkuma, she doesn't have a zipper on her back. Her favorite foods are strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s and cherries
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
and she loves playing with her radio controlled duck. Like Rilakkuma, she also likes listening to music, particularly at loud volume using her music player.
Picture books
- Rilakkuma Seikatsu - Daradara Mainichi no Susume (Aki Kondou, March 2004)
- Dararan Biyori - Rilakkuma Seikatsu 2 (Aki Kondou, November 2004)
- Tori Dayori - Rilakkuma Seikatsu 3 (Aki Kondou, May 2005)
- Kuma Goyomi - Rilakkuma Seikatsu 4 (Aki Kondou, September 2006)
- Utatane Kibun - Rilakkuma Seikatsu 5 (Aki Kondou, September 2007)
- Bonyari Kinenbi - Rilakkuma Seikatsu 6 (Aki Kondou, August 2008)
- Yanwari Jozu - Rilakkuma Seikatsu 7 (Aki Kondou, October 2010)
Sticker books
- Rilakkuma Daradara Shiiru Bukku (Aki Kondou, November 2004)
- Rilakkuma Dara Pika Shiiru Bukku (Aki Kondou, May 2005)
- Rilakkuma Gorogoro Shiiru Bukku (Aki Kondou, September 2006)
- Rilakkuma Howa Pika Shiiru Bukku (Aki Kondou, September 2007)
- Rilakkuma Nohohon Shiiru Bukku (Aki Kondou, August 2008)
Games
- Rilakkuma na Mainichi (Rocket Company, Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, April 2005) - Rilakkuma ~Ojamashitemasu 2 Shuukan~ (InterchannelInterchannelInterchannel is a Japanese game developer and publisher. Previously known as NEC Interchannel and before that NEC Avenue, it was originally a subsidiary of NEC before 70 percent of the company was sold to Index Corporation for approximately 3 billion yen in 2004...
, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, September 2005) - Watashi no Rilakkuma (Rocket Company, Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, April 2007) - Chokkan Asonde Rilakkuma (Smilesoft, Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, September 2008) - Norinori Rilakkuma Hit Song Ongaku (Smilesoft, Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, December 2010)