Hideki Tōjō was the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 1941 to 1944. He was also a general of the Imperial Japanese Army and leader of the para-fascist Taisei Yokusankai. As Prime Minister, he was directly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the war between Japan and the United States. After the end of the war, Tōjō was arrested, sentenced to death for Japanese war crimes and hanged in 1948.
A diminutive Mexican luchador in Capcom’s Saturday Night Slam Masters, a 1993 professional wrestling arcade game. This masked Mexican wrestler amazes crowds with his high-flying speed and techniques. Also known as El Stinger, he is based on real-life Mexican wrestler Lizmark, who’s very popular in Japan.
A fictional character known in Japan as Kinopio who belongs to an anthropomorphic mushroom-like species of the same name in Nintendo’s Mario series. As a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad is one of Princess Peach’s most loyal attendants. He was created by the great Shigeru Miyamoto.
A video game character created by Capcom. Ryu is a karate master and the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. He premiered in the original Street Fighter in 1987 as the lead character, along with his best friend and rival Ken Masters.
The fictional gorilla monster in the movie Queen Kong, a 1976 British spoof of King Kong with the gender roles reversed. A female film crew journeys to Africa where a giant ape falls in love with the crew’s male star. The film has a cult following in Japan. A version of the movie with new Japanese dialogue was released on DVD in 2001 (with hot pink bikini art).
You can see a poster of the 2001 Queen Kong art in some Laughing Planet Café locations, including the new restaurant in Corvallis, Oregon.
An almost-unstoppable enemy in Kid Icarus, which was an action platform video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, first released in 1987. The Eggplant Wizard (or, as we affectionately called him, the Eggplant Priest) could turn the protagonist’s (Pit’s) upper body into an eggplant by tossing eggplant projectiles at him. See this evil creature in action.
The official mascot of Japan’s NHK television station. Domo first appeared in stop-motion interstitial sketches in 1998 and later became well known outside of Japan through a Photoshopped image depicting Domos chasing a kitten. This Internet meme originated at Fark.com in 2002 and helped popularize “killing kittens” as a euphemism for masturbation.
The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and legendary damsel in distress in Nintendo’s Mario series. She was always in another castle.
The main protagonist in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series of video games. Created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamot, this magical swordsman has been traveling through Hyrule, attempting to save Princess Zelda and her kingdom, since 1986. I love the music from the original Zelda game. A lot.
A giant ape, created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who stars in a series of Nintendo games. In the original 1981 video game, Jumpman (now known as Mario) had to rescue Lady (now known as Pauline) from this barrel-throwing ape.
If yesterday was Cinco de Mario, then today is Seis de Luigi. Here is more Nintendo-based childhood nostalgia in the form of Mario’s twin brother.
I’m taking a break from political leaders and revolutionaries for a couple of video game characters. Childhood nostalgia runs deep with this Italian-American plumber who first appeared over 25 years ago.
I briefly considered posting an 8-bit Mexican luchador today instead (as a weak tie-in to Cinco de Mayo), but the force of Nintendo was too strong.
Not the real Buddha, but a laughing deity of Chinese folklore. I bought a sitting Budai figurine in Manhattan just after 9/11 and have kept it in my car ever since. For good luck. I am also quite taken by this recent photo of a Hotei Buddha statue resting seemingly undisturbed in the tsunami-destroyed town of Sendai, Japan.
Tanooki (PETA) – No. 283
On November 14, 2011, coinciding with Nintendo’s launch of Super Mario 3D Land, PETA released a spoof Flash game called Super Tanooki Skin 2D as part of their “Mario Kills Tanooki” publicity campaign. According to PETA, “Tanooki may be just a ‘suit’ in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur.” In the PETA game, a skinned tanuki chases a blood-soaked Tanooki Mario to reclaim his fur.
PETA’s incendiary politics (and its inhumane 90+ percent kill rate of stray cats and dogs) aside, I enjoyed their 8-bit Tanooki game. Mario’s Tanooki Suit, which resembles a tanuki and gives him shapeshifting powers, first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1990. In ancient Japanese folklore and popular culture (see Pom Poko), raccoon dogs are mischievous masters of disguise. My favorite tanuki is my part-Siamese cat Tanuki.