Elderly couple donates 400 million yen to erect Myaku-Myaku statue in Osaka

Multi-million-dollar Myaku-Myaku donation .

It’s been nearly a year since the closing of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka , but its official mascot, the gooey humanoid Myaku-Myaku has managed to secure a popularity that has transcended the event it was created to represent.

Myaku-Myaku goods are still widely sold, and game centers are still well stocked with crane games offering chances at plush toys and other goods bearing its moist likeness.

It’s a rather surprising turn of events for the mascot after its debut in 2022, which left people unsure of how to feel about its characteristics , both cute, such as its big smile and stubby little legs, and grotesque, such as its head looking like bloody entrails. ▼ Early Myaku-Myaku fan art. シニゲーくん pic.twitter.com/kiBndmNDva — 色紙の妖精しきっしー (@SIKISSYfacerock) April 26, 2022 But over the years, people by and large seemed to really warm up to Myaku-Myaku.

Its post-Expo activities have only continued to grow into projects such as a tastefully erotic photo book .

And now, a surprise donation to the City of Osaka may very well cement the mascot’s legacy for generations to come.

Reports have recently come in that business owner Keihachi Fukunishi and his wife Akiyo Fukunishi, both 85, have given 200 million yen each, for a total of 400 million (US$2.5 million) yen to the city . ▼ There were already several statues at the venue, but the materials weren’t intended for permanent use.

The couple’s donation came with a request that a statue of Myaku-Myaku be erected on the site where the Expo was held .

At a press event where Keihachi and Akiyo received letters of appreciation, the husband told reporters the Myaku-Myaku “is a symbol.

Just as the Tower of the Sun defined the Senri Expo Park, Myaku-Myaku defines the Osaka-Kansai Expo.” He makes an interesting comparison too.

The Tower of the Sun was the centerpiece of the 1970 Expo, which was also held in Osaka and also wasn’t without controversy when first unveiled.

Its creator, Taro Okamoto, created it in almost direct opposition to the post-moon-landing Expo’s overarching theme of technological progress by filling his statue with organic and tribalistic imagery. ▼ The Tower of the Sun However, by the end of that Expo, it was widely lauded as a masterpiece and still stands today, designated as a national tangible cultural property.

Perhaps Myaku-Myaku’s own shockingly organic appearance and subsequent rise to prominence reminded the Fukunishis of the Tower of the Sun, and they wanted to entrench the mascot’s legacy in the same way.