Super snazzy samurai armor-wearing teddy bears will be ready for your next Children’s Day display!

Did you know that teddy bears have been around for almost 120 years now? They were first developed in 1902, simultaneously in the U.S. by Morris Michtom of Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. and in Germany by toy company Steiff. Steiff, in fact, became so world-renowned for their teddy bears and other stuffed toys that their products are often considered collectibles and can be worth a lot of money, like their ultra-rare Totoro plush.

To celebrate 120 years of teddy bears, Steiff is releasing a new series of one-of-a-kind samurai teddy bears in Japan which are meant to be put on display during Children’s Day to wish for the boys of the house to grow up strong and healthy. The combination of cute innocence with the display of strength through armor makes them a great accessory to help celebrate the boys of your family.

There are two kinds of bears in the new series: Teddy Bear Samurai Ookuwa Gold, and Teddy Bear Samurai Mikazuki II. The Ookuwa Gold model is a remake of the Chukuwa Gold version, which was released on a very limited basis last year and which proved to be extremely popular. The base bear design is a slimmer and slightly more masculine version of the classic Matti bear. 

True to its name, this bear wears gold and red armor and also has a gold, two-pronged antler-style helmet, which emulates a stag beetle. This helmet is larger than last year’s Samurai Bear Chukuwa Gold, making it look more powerful and magnificent than before.

The Teddy Bear Mikazuki II is designed to look like Date Masamune, who is one of the most popular samurai to be put on display as a doll during Children’s Day.

This bear wears silver and blue armor with a massive crescent moon helmet, much like Masamune once wore. This one, too, is a renewed version of a bear that was released two years ago, and which was so popular it sold out.

These bears are both available for advance preorder now until December 27, and those who place an order now will receive a special personalized wooden tag with each bear ordered so you can put it on display together with your teddy.

Steiff is also offering for preorder a black, mirrored surface, acrylic display case for 50,000 yen. It’s designed for this series, and will keep your priceless collectibles safe from dust and damage.

Each bear retails for 125,000 yen (US$1,104.14) and can be preordered from Steiff’s Online Shop or at Steiff’s physical stores in Aoyama, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, and Fukuoka. It sounds like a hefty price tag, but Steiff Bears are considered to be extremely high quality, and Children’s Day dolls generally run in the hundreds of thousands of yen anyway, so if you’re a collector or you’re celebrating the birth of a son in your family, it’s well worth the price!

Source, images: PR Times
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