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Did you know that each of Japan’s 47 prefectures has a designated monster that represents their region? The larger-than-life beings were born from the “Gotouchi Kaiju” (“Local Monsters”) multimedia project helmed by Professor Hiroshi Sagae, who’s worked on a number of kaiju-centric films such as Godzilla Millenium, Ultraman Saga and Gamera the Brave.

Now there’s a special crowdfunding campaign that’s calling on the masses to support the plight of the monsters as they strive to protect nature and promote greenery in their towns. Patrons who contribute to their favourite beast will be rewarded with cards, T-shirts or even a 3-D kaiju figurine but best of all, the funds raised for each prefecture will go towards supporting environmental projects in the region.

The Gotouchi Kaiju project features a comprehensive, well-thought out world of monsters to look over everyone from Hokkaido in the north all the way down to Okinawa in the country’s south. They’ve produced artworks, back stories, figurines and even a couple of short “demo” videos, putting the nation’s beasts in the middle of well-known towns, amid fearful citizens scurrying for safety, with all the classic style of a Godzilla film.

For a quick introduction to some of the kaiju and their towns, check out the short video below.

The monsters are only terrorising their towns because they don’t have enough nature to roam around in, which means we’ll have to do some environmental work to keep the peace. Contributing to the cause via Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire should do the trick, with options for donations starting at 500 yen (US$4.15), which will net you a specially marked thank-you card from your chosen monster, all the way up through badges and T-shirts to the top-tier donation of 100,000 yen ($830.94), which will get you the full package, including special products from the prefecture.

▼ Because monsters want to feel nature underfoot instead of glass shards and hard buildings.

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With 47 kaiju begging for our attention, there’s certainly a lot to choose from. We’ll take you through some of our favourites below.

Hyogo Prefecture’s vision of terroir comes in the form of a tiger, posing as a wind god who lives on Kobe’s Mount Rokko and looks over the action at Hyogo’s famed Hanshin Koshien Baseball Stadium. Watch out for his special attack; the “Megaphone Blizzard”.

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Kagoshima’s Sugindon takes its name from sugi, the cedar tree, which can be found in the ancient World Heritage forest of Yakushima, an island just off the coast. A donation to Sugindon will contribute to the re-planting of trees in the forest area. If you don’t take part, he might just hit you with his special fighting move, the “Pollen Attack”.

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Nara Prefecture features an angry deer-beast known as Shinrock. He’s had enough of traffic in the city, using his “Horn Thunder” attack to let off steam. If you donate 100,000 yen to Shinrock, you’ll be able to receive a package which includes him as a carefully modelled 3-D figurine.

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Ibaraki’s famed product, natto, or fermented soybeans, takes shape as a monster full of Bacillus, known as Bacillking. His attack is one of the league’s most perilous: super sticky threads. And just imagine the smell…

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If you’ve spent some time in Osaka, you may have seen this famous creature at the shopping mall in its real-life form as the renowned Osaka obachan, a distinctive type of middle-aged woman common in the area and identified by her love of leopard print and loud, gregarious nature. Similarly, Osaka’s beast is dressed up in leopard print and stuns enemies with its voice.

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To find out more about the monsters and to take part in the environmental project, be sure to visit the campaign page on Campfire’s crowdfunding website. If you’d like to take a look at some of their beastly figurines, take a look at their YouTube channel. You’ll be glad you did!

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Source: ITmedia
Top Image: Campfire/gotouchikaiju
Insert Images: YouTube/Gotouchi Kaiju, Campfire/gotouchikaiju 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, YouTube/Gotouchi Kaiju