So there I was rummaging around in Don Quixote's, a massive shop in Harajuku specialising in cheap tat, when I discovered a Mameshiba keychain. I had seen the normal Edamame keychains in other stores but this one had a little dog's face on the middle bean and I just HAD to get involved. I had no idea what I had let myself in for!
Since that fateful purchase I have learned that Mameshiba is a Japanese bean dog ("mame" coming from Edamame which are soy beans to us in the West and "shiba" coming from the breed of dog) that appears in people's food to tell them a piece of trivia. My favourite part of the videos is how after the talking bean dog imparts his trivia the people involved turn grey and cannot finish their food - they seem to be genuinely disturbed by him yet it still works as advertising!
I am sure that words are not conveying how brilliant Mameshiba - when you see him for yourself you cannot help but fall in love with his little bean dog face. He is second only to my beloved Rilakkuma (whom I shall be boring you, er, blogging about very soon). They have turned what I foolishly assumed was just a cute face on a soy bean into a charming, eccentric and entertaining fellow that I regurlarly check up on in case he has any new nuggets of trivia for me. The Japanese are so good at creating back story and quirks for their characters, even if it is just a way of selling merchandise it seems forgivable when the character is more than just a face on a plush as is the way in the West.
I will end this not with pictures of Mameshiba merchandise but with the videos that are the reason I came to love the different beans that make up the whole brand, and I am sure you will come to love them too!
p.s. I shall only post the first few as there are currently TWELVE of these vids! To see them all visit this lovely person's youtube channel
All together now!
