Kawaii Corner - Inarco Frog Planter

Hi Friends! It's been awhile since I shared a fun, lovable "kawaii" (Japanese concept of cute, particularly cute animals) vintage collectable. This big-eyed, smiling happy frog, with its proper salutational hat-tipping gesture, was manufactured and hand-painted by the Inarco Company in Japan some fifty or sixty years ago. It has been hanging around our house for quite some time, and although it gets carefully shifted from one place to another, it never ceases to put a smile on the faces of whomever it meets.

Although pipe smoking has been long out of fashion, our aquatic companion is, even in our modern times, considered to be very smartly dressed in a pink waistcoat, accessorized with a jaunty yellow straw hat and black bow tie.

From those lovable big protruding eyes...

to those slap-happy webbed feet...

the cuteness factor, or "kawaii", is irresistible. I'm sure we will be delighting in our frog friend's imaginary antics for many more years to come.

Thanks for being here. See you again soon on Kawaii Corner!

Kawaii Corner: Ries Japan Hand Decorated Figurine

Of the various characteristics that make up the Japanese style of cuteness known as 'Kawaii' (originally translated as 'radiant face', this now means 'lovable'), the most recognizable, and the best loved, is big eyes. Child-like features such as large eyes, along with a high forehead, wide cheeks, and a proportionally smaller nose and mouth increase the cuteness factor, as well as stimulate our desire to care for, and care about, animals and other humans with these unique features.

And if you ask me, if your kitty (wait - is this a kitty? Or a tall thin lion cub?) is wearing an attractive red polka-dotted bow tie, and is resting its plump head on its curvy tail in an endearing 'look at me!' pose, well, it just can't get any cuter! Our loveable little friend definitely wants to stand out in a crowd.

This adorable Kawaii figurine still has a sticker on the bottom that says "Ries Japan" and "Hand Decorated." The only thing missing is whatever little charm or tag was attached to the wire ring under the bow tie.

Thanks for meeting me here on 'Kawaii Corner', and we'll see you again soon!

Kawaii Corner

    Last fall I introduced you, in the blog post Made in Japan: Kawaii, to my love of vintage Japanese ceramics, especially those that have the cuteness factor known in Japan as "Kawaii".  And while most of the pieces in my Kawaii collection are indeed ceramic, this little music box is a unique exception.

We've had a bit of fun around here trying to decide exactly what kinds of animals these two are.  The conclusion was that they are a mouse and a cat, which sort of makes sense when you listen to the song this music box plays: You Light Up My Life.

Ah, yes - cat and mouse games; the cat in constant pursuit of the mouse, and the mouse always lucky to have repeated escapes from the cat.  The phrase itself dates back to 1675 and the concept has been used in storytelling by the Brothers Grimm, Lewis Carroll, and more recently in Tom And Jerry cartoons.  

You Light Up My Life was a hit song in 1977, written by Joseph Brooks, recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the movie of the same name, and a Top 40 radio version was sung by Debbie Boone.  The chorus goes like this:

And you

Light up my life

You give me hope 

To carry on

You light up my days

And fill my nights

With song
You light up my life

The pins, drum and vibration plate of this music box are still perfectly intact, playing the song in what sounds like its original rich volume.  Even more exciting is the fact that the seat the mouse is sitting upon actually swings as the music plays!  See the little hole in the seat of the swing to the left of the mouse?  A small pin rises up out of the interior of the casing and sits within that hole, and part of the wind-up mechanism moves the swing back and forth.  Which leads us to this question: is the cat pushing the mouse in the swing, or is the mouse happily swinging alone, unaware of the presence of the cat behind it? 

Even though the song this music box plays is considered by many to be extremely tacky, it could be said that the happy melody and words fit the mood of the two cute creatures, who perhaps have forgotten the roles mother nature has assigned to them, at least for the moment.  I'd like to think that these cuties are actually friends, but... the final outcome of the game they are playing out has me on the edge of my seat!  Does the mouse, with its back turned, know the cat is there, and if so, why does it seem to trust the cat?  Will they both keep happily playing together, as long as the music plays?  Or will the cat finally pounce on the mouse? 

Whatever the case may be, perhaps you'll agree that this is one very "Kawaii" vintage Made In Japan music box!

Made In Japan: Kawaii

    Kawaii (pronounced Kah-wah-ee) is known in Japan as the 'incredible cute syndrome'.  Dating as far back as the Late Shogunate Period (mid 19th century), this concept is applied to literally all aspects of Japanese culture, especially to the appearance and manner of women and girls.  However, its meaning also heavily influences industrial product design in terms of size, shape and overall appearance, and is a primary design theme in a broad range of products.

My collection of vintage Japanese ceramics includes many pieces with this Kawaii quality.  I am drawn to these ceramic creatures because of that cuteness, but I also love the colors and shapes of these adorable 'friends'.  That pup above, for example, has the cutest face, but what I really like are the paint colors used and the technique with which the paint was applied - some of it very neat, and some of it haphazard, or even Wabi, in a way.  You may agree that the other pieces below also posses this Kawaii quality as well:

 

That pig is actually a piggy bank.  On the top, where the money slot is, it says "Cash Only - No Refunds".  And the whale is an ashtray - you can see the place for a cigarette to rest in the middle of that metal bar running around its mouth. That pink figure?  I think it's a flop-eared bunny.  It's a salt or pepper shaker and can you guess how much would I love to find its soul mate?  I wonder what color it is (I'm guessing baby blue!), and whether its shape is the opposite of this one?

Thank you for taking a look!  And if you love vintage, tell me about it!