I was disheartened to find on my Japan trip that Tarako Kewpie seems to be no more. The doll dressed up as a nasty fish egg condiment that had taken the country by storm just one year ago had gone the way of Dango Sankyoudai.
But there is good news! As the ad I blogged about a earlier this month indicated, Kewpies have morphed into a Hello Kitty-like blank canvas ubiquitous to all department stores, kiosks, and souvenir shops.
Though Tarako Kewpie is gone, we now have Mushroom Kewpie and Beer Kewpie, among hundreds of other variations. You can even get Kewpies dressed up as popular anime characters.
The craft mecca Yuzawaya now has a whole wall of naked Kewpies in multiple sizes for people to dress up as their food or beverage of choice.
I suppose you can also get these in the U.S., but it seems that the Japanese have claimed Kewpie as their own. Could it make a comeback here?
Whenever I go to the Japanese grocery store in Japantown here in SF I always wonder why they carry Kewpie mayonnaise. I guess it is an extended obsession with Kewpie that is the culprit.
I like Kewpies! I would love to go to Japan and buy one of each size. :O) I think if I did go to Japan I would return with a huge number of tiny toys. Just me.. samm
If I weren’t so afraid of getting lost, I would totally go to the Japanese section of the city (LA) and by up so much crap I’d have even LESS room for my fiber-stuffs. You, my friend, are a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad influence.
I hope so. I loved those dolls when I was little.
I just scored an old kewpie doll from the toy chest at my Mums. Apparently my aunt thinks my baby looks like one (big eyes) so I just had to ‘borrow’ it. I think I’ll leave ours without the food/beverage dress ups though lol