Hello Kitty shows off her backside in tribute to the fundoshi-clad men of FukuokaA fundoshi is a traditional Japanese undergarment that is basically a thong for dudes. Made of a single, long piece of cloth, the fundoshi was the go-to underwear for Japanese men until the middle of the 20th century. That’s right, no boxers, no briefs, just white cotton man thongs. Thankfully, few modern men are running around Japan with a fundoshi shoved up their butt, but they are still used in many festivals to this day.

As a tribute to one of these festivals, the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Matsuri in Fukuoka, Hello Kitty can now be seen in a white fundoshi.

The Hakata Gion Yamakasa Matsuri takes place every year from July 1 until July 15 and includes hundreds of men wearing fundoshi while carrying massive floats. Here’s a visual in case you were curious what this spectacle might look like:

Yamakasa Matsuri

▲ Look at all those ham hocks!

And here’s the Hello Kitty version:

Hello Kitty shows off her backside in tribute to the fundoshi-clad men of Fukuoka

The newly designed fundoshi Hello Kitty is printed on a bright pink towel, on sale now for 840 yen (US$8.84).

Hello Kitty shows off her backside in tribute to the fundoshi-clad men of Fukuoka2

The towel looks a bit long…just like the cloth used for a fundoshi. If the float carriers at this year’s festival catch on to the similar length, they may decide to swap out the traditional white cloth for these pink towels. If they do, we’ll all be greeted by Hello Kitty’s adorable face peering out from between the butt cheeks of hundreds of sweaty men.

Hello Kitty images: RocketNews24

Yamakasa Festival image: Kyushu Sanpo

 
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