Umihei, the older brother of Namihei, the father in the popular long-running cartoon Sazae-san will become the mascot for Nishijin. After two years of negotiations between the Nishijin Shopping Arcade Association and the Machiko Hasegawa Art Museum, which holds the copyrights to Sazae-san, an agreement was reached that the shopping street could create suits for two mascots: Umihei and Sazae-san. In the original comic strip, Umihei—only distinguishable from his brother by one extra hair on his otherwise bald head—lives in Kyushu. The strip’s creator, Machiko Hasegawa, is said to have conceived of Sazae-san while walking along the coast near Nishijin where she had evacuated to during the war. Last May, a street near the shopping arcade was dubbed Sazae-san-dori. The two mascots will make their first appearance on Mar. 3 at Katsutaka Shrine where they will pray for the success of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks by handing out shiroboshi manju (victory mark buns). Nishinippon Shimbun, Feb. 22
Umihei (left) and Namihei (right).
