Whats the deal with that omnipresent badger character you see all over Japan? -

It seems that everywhere you go in Japan, you will see a pudgy badger wearing a straw hat posted outside residential and commercial entrances. He is uniformly stylized, with a very pointy nose and teeth showing. He s frankly a little intense looking. I ve heard that he s a kind of quot;greeterquot; as you enter through these doorways. Can anyone out there shed some light on this annoying character?

Morinji Temple in Tatebayashi is the temple of the Tanuki, badger like. Temple quite attractive and used to be a bit secluded. TANUKI, Magical Racoon-like Dog with Shape-Shifting Powers Modern-Day God of Gluttony, Boozing, and Restauranteurs This Zen temple is associated with the famous old folktale quot;Bunbuku Chagama.quot; Not only is the chagama, or tea kettle that figures prominently in this tale in fact preserved here as a temple treasure, but 22 statues of the tanuki, a humourous badger-like creature that also appears in the story, line the approach to the shrine. Some rare plants can be seen at Morinji Temple s marsh and there is a forest called quot;wild birds forestquot; on its north side. Bunbuku Chagama roughly translates to quot;happiness bubbling over like a tea pot.quot; The story tells of a poor man who finds a tanuki caught in a trap. Feeling sorry for the animal, he sets it free. That night, the tanuki comes to the poor man s house to thank him for his kindness. The tanuki transforms itself into a chagama and tells the man to sell him for money. The man sells the tanuki-teapot to a monk, who brings it home and, after scrubbing it harshly, sets it over the fire to boil water. Unable to stand the heat, the tanuki teapot sprouts legs and, in its half-transformed state, makes a run for it. The tanuki returns to the poor man with another idea. The man would set up a roadside attraction (a little circus-like setup) and charge admission for people to see a teapot walking a tightrope. The plan works, and each gains something good from the other--the man is no longer poor and the tanuki has a new friend and home. In a variant of the story, the tanuki-teapot does not run and returns to its transformed state. The shocked monk decides to leave the teapot as an offering to the poor temple where he lives, choosing not to use it for making tea again. The temple eventually becomes famous for its supposed dancing teapot.

This is too funny, you can t make this stuff up. If Wikipedia didn t back me up maybe you wouldn t believe me. :) He s a tanuki (a kind of racoon dog). In Japan, male tanuki are known for having very large testicles that swing when they walk. There is a little kids song about the tanuki and his huge swinging testicles. A euphemism for testicles in Japanese is 金玉 (kintama), literally quot;golden balls.quot; Because the tanuki has huge gold balls, he is thought to be rich and to bring good economic fortune, which is why you see him outside of shops, especially the lottery ticket sellers, and sometimes a residence especially if they have a home business.

Oh, Tanuki, the guy with the massive scrotum? I guess it s the Japanese version of the plastic pink flamingo. In pottery towns you ll see it at residences, but in other places, mostly just restaurants. I think it s supposed to bring luck and fortune like manekineko (the stupid cat).