Company: Kaiyodo
Year: 2024
Size: 3cm
Main distribution: Japan / Australia (Gashapon Machines)
Barcode: 4589573455265
This is a gashapon set of miniature figures based on Japanese Folktales, and is a collab between Kaiyodo (Japanese toy company) and Tatsuya Tanaka (miniature photographer).
All figure sets come accompanied with a photo of Tatsuya Tanaka, placing the miniatures amongst every day objects and thereby creating new worlds.
The figure sets come in brown capsules with a wrapper, and it’s impossible to see which one you have until you open it.
Each figure set is individually wrapped in plastic, and comes with a full colour leaflet.
On the other side is the specific set of figures that accompany it, as well as Tatsuya Tanaka’s photo.
There are 8 figure sets to collect; The Bamboo Princess, Peach Boy (Momotarō), Kintarō, The Grateful Crane, Urashima Tarō, The Old Man with a Lump, Tongue-Cut Sparrow (Shita-kiri Suzume) and One-Inch Boy.
We got 4/8.
The Bamboo Princess
This set exists out of the Emperor, Kaguyahime and Taketori-no Okina.
The story on the leaflet goes: Once upon a time, there was an old man called Taketori-no Okina (the Old Bamboo Cutter). One day, this old man discovers a glowing bamboo trunk in a bamboo thicket. When he cut it open, a little girl came out from inside the tube. The girl raised by the old man and his wife quickly grows up to be beautiful and is named Princess Kaguya. Five men come to propose to Princess Kaguya for marriage after learning of her beauty, but in the end, she makes a seemingly impossible wish to the remaining five.
The photo of Tatsuya Tanaka depicts a skillet for the world, with herbs for bamboo, a fried egg for the moon, and salt for the stars. The figures are sat in this scenery.
The Grateful Crane
This set exists out of Old Man, Young Woman and Crane.
The story on the leaflet goes: Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman who were poor but kind-hearted. One day, the old man rescues a crane from a trap. That night, a young girl comes to the house. After learning that this girl has no relatives, the two decide to adopt her as their daughter and live together. After a while, the daughter begins to weave beautiful cloth with thread. The cloth sold for a high price. But for some reason, the daughter never lets them see her weave.
The photo of Tatsuya Tanaka depicts a jewellery box for the world, with pearls for a rock garden, and the compartments in the box as rooms. The figures are sat in these “rooms”, in one he watches her weave, in the other he’s fallen over discovering the crane.
The Old Man with a Lump
This set exists out of Old Man, Ogre and Old Man.
The story on the leaflet goes: Once upon a time, there lived an old man with a lump hanging from his left cheek. One day, while taking shelter from the rain in the mountains, he encountered a group of ogres. The old man danced there, and the ogres liked him and asked him to come again tomorrow, so they took his lump as a pledge so as not to break his promise. The old man had his lump that was in the way removed. When he told this story to the old man next door who has a lump on his right cheek…
The photo of Tatsuya Tanaka depicts a 2-tier strawberry cake for the world, with a strawberry upright in the top centre acting as a bonfire. The figures are sat on top of the cake, with the ogres in a circle around the bonfire on the edge of the cake and the old men dancing in the centre around the bonfire.
One-Inch Boy
This set exists out of Issunboshi, Ogre and Princess.
The story on the leaflet goes: Once upon a time, a couple lived in Namba, Settsu Province. The couple had no children, and each time they visited the shrine, they asked “Please give us a child, even if it is as small as a finger.” Then, she was blessed with a child as small as a finger. The child, who was named Issunboshi, grew up as a small child, and when he turned 16, he declared to his parents that he was sure to succeed in life and departed for Kyoto.
The photo of Tatsuya Tanaka depicts hair extensions as a river, with 2 combs over it as a bridge and some miniature trees to complete the landscape. The figures are placed in this “landscape”, with the Ogre on one side of the river, the Princess on the bridge and Issunboshi peddling through the river.
I love miniature things so when I saw these tiny figures in Sydney I thought they were amazing. I don’t have much with Japanese folklore though, and prefer more mundane / modern figures. However, I really liked the tiny animals of Kintarō, and the pheasant of Peach Boy, so hoped for those.
I’m also familiar with Tatsuya Tanaka’s work and done similar toy photography, but don’t have anything in such a tiny scale, so gaining these figures would work for that too.
Alas, we never got Kintarō nor Peach Boy, and having spent a lot of money on this gashapon machine, we gave up. At least we got no doubles though, and my husband likes the folktales.
If you like tiny figures, Japanese Folklore or miniature photography, this series is nice.
If you prefer bigger figures you might give this a miss.
Got any more details / information? Did I get something wrong? Do you own the same figures or the full set? Let me know in the comments below!