Totoro, No-Face, and Jiji may sway and wobble, but they’ll never get laid out.
Part of what makes Totoro such an endearing anime character is the way he constantly radiates an aura of relaxed positivity. Whether it’s an everyday annoyance like getting caught in a rain shower without an umbrella or a legitimate crisis like a missing child, Totoro’s calm smile always seems to communicate the idea that “Hey, things might be rough right now, but they’re gonna be OK.”
Also serving as a visual version of that reassuring sentiment is the line of Yurayura Okiagari Koboshi figures from Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku.
There’s a lot going on linguistically in that name, so let’s take a quick run through it. Yurayura is a Japanese phrase that describes the motion of swaying or wobbling back and forth. Okiagari means to stand or get up and koboshi is a way of saying “child,” but okiagari koboshi together are used to refer to dolls that wobble when pushed, but still stay upright because of how the weight of their egg-like form is distributed.
So no matter how much these Totoros get knocked around, they’ll never get knocked down, and will always recover and spring back up.
All three Totoro sizes/colors (big gray, medium blue, and small white) are part of the lineup, ranging in height from 7.3 to 4.9 centimeters (2.9 to 1.9 inches), and in price from 1,760 to 1,540 yen (US$12.60 to US$11). They’re each holding an umbrella or leaf, so you can use them to reenact the midnight garden-growing scene from My Neighbor Totoro.
▼ Did you ever notice the small Totoro has no arms?
No-Face may not always display the sort of chilled-out warmth that Totoro does, but there’s no denying the Spirited Away creature has overcome some tough times in his life, so he’s also a fitting Yurayura Okiagari Koboshi muse, standing 7 centimeters tall and priced at 1,980 yen.
▼ Don’t worry, he won’t spill his drink.
And rounding out the lineup is Kiki’s Delivery Service’s Jiji, inside the mug he found for Kiki while they were setting up their new home.
At 7.6 centimeters and 2,420 yen, the Jiji Yurayura Okiagari Koboshi is the priciest of the bunch, but it comes with the extra cuteness of double yurayura motion, both of the cup itself and Jiji inside it.
The whole collection is on sale now from Donguri Kyowakoku thanks to a recent restock, and can be ordered through the chain’s online store (big Totoro here, medium Totoro here, small Totoro here, No-Face here, and Jiji here).
Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
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