Thanks to Miki and to her amazing on-line shop, I was recently able to hoard a couple of really kawaii vinyl toys... and now I feel and irresistible need to collect them all! The first about which I am talking about is the Takochu, which is a cute, little, and colorful octopus! They exists in many, many colors dans they could be also collected into a pile. Maybe, their name takes inspiration from the Takoyaki, which are a typical Japanese ball shaped snack made with minced octopus. Or perhaps, it could simple mean "octopus" (Tako) "smack" (Chu)... I honestly do not know...
The second one is the Manju Kun, which remembers a typical Japanese sweet (the Manju) made with rice flour and filled with anko, a cream made with boiled azuki beans and sugar. According to wikipedia, the Manju are derived from a similar steamed sweet, the Mantou - Mochi in Japanses, that existed in Chine since ages. As in the case of the Takochu, thanks to their great variety, Manju Kun take many colorful and original aspects and, for that, are really cute to be collected!
I love this way to turn traditional food into contemporary, cute characters. I have discovered only recently these amazing vinyl toys, but searching on the the net I have found out that they are "cult" characters since many years, when a real invasion of these cute and colorful mascots has started. Also some groups of fans exist, which gather pictures of entire collections that can be admired on the web. My idea was to tribute to these amazing vinyl toys, making two rubber stamps: one for the Takochu and another for the Manju Kun... by this way, I can have fun to create numberless colorful friends, with which to decorate diaries, letters, and everything I'd like with a super-kawaii touch!! I hope you like them, check them out on my etsy!!!
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