Kigurumi

Kigurumi (着ぐるみ) is the Japanese name for costumed animal characters. The name comes from the Japanese term (着る - kiru: to wear) and (縫いぐるみ - nuigurumi: a stuffed toy animal). These suited performers are sometimes found at shopping malls, theme parks, and booths at animé Fan conventions. For example, Disneyland costumed characters such as Mickey Mouse and costumed "mascot" characters at sports events would be referred to as kigurumi by the Japanese. Sometimes these characters are to entertain children, sometimes as promotional tactics to grab attention on busy city streets.

Kigurumi costumes are occasionally also worn non-commercially, and are another form of Japanese street fashion. Youths who choose to wear kigurumi in public are referred to as "kigurumin", and the consumer-level costumes they tend to wear are also known as "disguise pajama". The suits, which can be bought from several different companies, are made in the style of large full-body pajamas resembling animals or popular characters.

A small subset of kigurumi with a particular attraction to the otaku and cosplay community is animegao, which involves the portrayal of more humanoid characters by means of masks and body-stockings. One performer of this style is called a "DOLLER".

External links

English sites

• Kigurumin Community on Livejournal: Community specifically dedicated to kigurumi pajama culture and fashion.

Mask creators

• Build Up Studio SIGMA
• Dolphin Factory
• Japanese Custom Kigurumi Shop with workflow documentary (translation)

See also

• Japanese street fashion
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kigurumi
• http://www.kigurumi777.com/ Kigurumi website (Japanese & English)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fursuit
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mascot

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