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Miraitowa and Someity

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"Miraitowa" redirects here. Not to be confused with Mirai to wa?.

Miraitowa (Japanese: ミライトワ) is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Someity (Japanese: ソメイティ) is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The events were held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021.[a] The checkered design on both mascots was inspired by the ichimatsu moyo pattern of the Tokyo 2020 official logo, while Someity's pink design was inspired by cherry blossoms. Both fictional characters have various superpowers, such as teleportation.

Miraitowa and Someity
Miraitowa (left), the mascot of the Olympics, and Someity (right), the mascot of the Paralympics
Mascots of the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics (Tokyo)
CreatorRyo Taniguchi
SignificanceFigures with chequered patterns and cherry blossom flowers

Created by Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi, the mascots were selected from a competitive process that took place in late 2017 and early 2018. A total of 2,042 candidate designs were submitted to the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, which then selected three pairs of unnamed mascot designs from the batch to present to Japanese elementary school students for the final decision. The results of the selection were announced on 28 February 2018, and the mascots were named on 22 July 2018. Miraitowa is named after the Japanese words for "future" (未来, mirai) and "eternity" (永久, towa), and Someity is named after someiyoshino (ソメイヨシノ), a type of cherry blossom. Someity's name also echoes the English phrase "so mighty". The mascots helped finance the Tokyo Games through merchandising and licensing deals.

History

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Selection and naming process

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Rejected mascot designs
 
Pair B, created by Kana Yano
 
Pair C, created by Sanae Akimoto

In late 2017 and early 2018, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee held a competition to determine the design of the 2020 mascots. A total of 2,042 design submissions were accepted between 1 August and 14 August 2017. The entries were then subjected to a series of format and design examinations led by media specialists and the Organising Committee's Mascot Selection Panel to determine whether they "would appeal to elementary school-aged children" and whether they "amply reflected the spirit of the Tokyo 2020 Games Vision".[3]

By mid-October 2017, this process reduced the pool to a shortlist of three sets of mascot candidates, which were unveiled on 7 December 2017. Each set included two mascots: one for the Olympic Games and the other for the Paralympic Games.[3] Between 11 December 2017 and 22 February 2018, an election was conducted across 16,769 Japanese elementary schools to choose the winning entry, with each participating elementary school class allocated one vote.[4][5][6] In total, 205,755 elementary school classes participated in the election,[6] which was about 75% of elementary schools in Japan.[7]

Results of the mascot selection
Pair Designer Votes received[6] Profile
A (winner) Ryo Taniguchi (Japanese: 谷口亮) 109,041 [8]
B Kana Yano (Japanese: 矢野花奈) 61,423 [9]
C Sanae Akimoto (Japanese: 秋本早苗) 35,291 [10]

The chosen mascots were announced without names on 28 February 2018. The winning entry was candidate pair A, created by Ryo Taniguchi.[6] The Mascot Selection Panel held a vote on a shortlist of proposed names on 28 May 2018, and names with the most votes were subjected to a trademark verification process before they became official.[11] The names of the mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, were announced when the mascots made their formal debut at a press event on 22 July 2018.[12]

Characteristics

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Flowers of the cherry blossom Prunus × yedoensis (Japanese: 染井吉野, romanized: someiyoshino), the namesake of the Paralympic mascot

Miraitowa, the Olympic mascot, is a figure with blue-checkered patterns inspired by the Games' official logo, which uses a similar checkered pattern called ichimatsu moyo that was popular during the Edo period in Japan from 1603 to 1867.[13] He is intended to embody "both old tradition and new innovation". He has a "strong sense of justice" and is described as "very athletic". He has the ability to teleport anywhere instantly.[14] Miraitowa's name is a combination of the Japanese words "future" (未来, mirai) and "eternity" (永久, towa).[12] According to the Tokyo 2020 organizers, the name "was chosen to promote a future full of eternal hope in the hearts of people all over the world".[15]

Someity, the Paralympic mascot, is a figure with pink-checkered patterns inspired by cherry blossoms and also the Games' official logo. She is described as "usually calm" but can become "very powerful when needed". She can fly using her checkered cape and send telepathic messages using her cherry blossom-shaped antennae. She can also "talk to stones and the wind" and move objects by looking at them.[14] Someity is named after someiyoshino, a type of cherry blossom, and she is also intended to refer to the English phrase "so mighty".[12]

Although the two mascots have conflicting personalities, they nonetheless have a strong friendship and respect for each other.[8] According to their fictional backgrounds, Miraitowa and Someity "live in the digital world", and through the Internet, they can transport themselves between the digital world and the real world.[16] According to Sadashige Aoki, an advertising theory professor at Hosei University, the mascots follow a Japanese tradition of "creating personalized characters out of nature — mountains, rivers, animals and plants", as well as a "tradition of animism, a belief that every natural thing has a soul".[17]

Artist

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The mascots were designed by Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi, who lives in the Fukuoka Prefecture in southern Japan. Taniguchi was persuaded by his father, who is also an illustrator, to study art at Cabrillo College in California.[13] He has illustrated English-language textbooks for Japanese children.[13][18]

Taniguchi discovered the Tokyo 2020 mascot competition on Facebook in February 2017 and came up with the idea of creating a character whose head resembled a samurai war helmet with the ichimatsu moyo pattern of the official Tokyo 2020 logo. After making a rough sketch, Taniguchi reworked the design after the competition's official application requirements were announced in May 2017. In designing the mascots, Taniguchi focused on the mascots' eyes to make his proposal stand out.[13]

Taniguchi was uninvolved in the naming of the mascots, though he did attend a screening at which various naming proposals were introduced.[13] As part of the agreement to use the mascots, Taniguchi transferred intellectual property rights to the mascots to the Olympic and Paralympic committees, and as a result, he will not receive any royalty payments from mascot-related licensing.[19]

Media

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Merchandising

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Official commemorative 100 yen coin designs featuring Miraitowa and Someity

Olympic officials expected the mascots to generate approximately $130 million (¥14.4 billion) in revenue from licensing and merchandising to help finance the Tokyo Games.[17][13] Organizers of Tokyo 2020 had been criticized for budget management; according to Reuters, a 2016 study found that overall expenses for the Olympics "could balloon to four times the initial estimate made in the bid process."[18][20] Tokyo 2020 was required to transfer the intellectual property rights of the mascots to the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee after the conclusion of the Games, preventing the city from developing and profiting from the mascots afterward.[17]

From late July to early September 2018, a "Mascot House" was located on the first floor of the Tokyo Midtown Hibiya building, in which visitors could take photos with the mascots and purchase licensed merchandise featuring the mascots.[21] On 11 July 2019, Tokyo 2020 organizers unveiled new merchandise, some of it featuring the mascots, which was able to be purchased either online or through authorized vendors throughout Japan.[22]

Plush dolls of Miraitowa and Someity were attached to the bouquets given to Olympic and Paralympic medalists at Tokyo 2020, with their "armor" in the color of the athlete's medal, as part of their design by the Nippon Flower Council.[23][24]

Robotics

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On 22 July 2019, the organizers of the 2020 Summer Olympics announced that robotic automatons of Miraitowa and Someity, among other robots, were expected to be included during the Games. According to the Los Angeles Times, the robots are "programmed to show facial expressions as they wave at and shake hands with athletes and fans".[25] The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee plans to use the mascots primarily to promote the Games and greet visitors and athletes, attempting to increase engagement with children.[26] The robots were also featured as part of a "1 Year to Go" press event on 22 July 2019 at an Olympic venue in Tokyo.[27] The robots were included as part of another press event on 18 November 2019 at a Japanese elementary school. The robots' eyes can change to display hearts, along with other emotions, and their multiple joints and arms can be remotely controlled. Cameras allow the robots to recognize and respond to facial expressions. The robots were developed in collaboration with Toyota.[28]

Animation

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On 22 July 2019, the official Japanese Twitter account of Tokyo 2020 posted an animated short depicting Miraitowa participating in all the sports to be contested at the Games.[29][30][31] On 25 August 2019, the same Twitter account posted a similar animated video featuring Someity participating in the Paralympic Games.[32]

Reception

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Miraitowa, and Someity on a Toei Bus in Tokyo

The public reaction to the mascot selection was "generally positive", according to an article published on Forbes' website in March 2018 by contributor Jake Adelstein. Adelstein described the mascots as "cute", though he commented that "there was some criticism of the futuristic blue and pink characters falling clearly into traditional gender roles". Adelstein speculated that the mascots would support the Olympics in Tokyo financially.[18] Multiple observers compared the design of the mascots to that of the Pokémon and Digimon franchises.[18][33][34] An article by Agence France-Presse described the social media reaction to the mascot selection on as "mixed". Some users commented that the mascots were "very Japanese and very cute", while others commented that the mascots should have been "more round" or "more huggable". Other commentators said that the selected design "appealed more to children whereas adults preferred the softer and more traditional options".[35]

Dan McQuade wrote in an article in sports news website Deadspin that it will be difficult for Miraitowa and Someity to match the popularity of Soohorang and Bandabi, the mascots of the 2018 Winter Olympics, citing statements from the BBC, which wrote that the 2020 mascots "have a tough act to follow", and The Japan Times, which wrote in a headline that the success of Soohorang and Bandabi "leaves Japan in a bind".[34][36][37] James Dator, in a blog entry published on the sports news website SB Nation, wrote that there is "nothing functionally wrong" with the mascot design, but felt that Sanae Akimoto's pair C was a superior candidate and should have been chosen instead. Dator also argued that children should not have been the ones to make the final decision.[38] On the other hand, Naoki Ogi, a Japanese pedagogy expert, emphasized the importance of the role of children in selecting the mascots, as opposed to adults.[18] Japanese author Rurika Suzuki said that the mascots have a "a very Japanese anime-like quality", describing them as "brilliant and sporty and perfect for the Olympics".[18]

In an article published in The New York Times on 27 July 2021, Mike Ives and Hikari Hida commented that, despite the typical importance of mascots in Japanese advertising, the mascots have had a "subdued" presence at the Tokyo Olympics, commenting that "the Japanese public is not swooning over them either, according to fans and experts who study the country’s mascot industry".[39] Ives and Hida described a common complaint being that the names of the mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, are difficult to remember.[39] The article quoted a mother named Yuki Fuka, who commented, "Within the whirlwind of all the Olympic controversy, I think the mascots were forgotten somewhere along the way [...] The Games have just started and their existence is already an afterthought."[39] According to Jillian Rae Suter, a professor of informatics at Shizuoka University, "They’re not hated, design-wise. They seem to be functional. They seem to be doing a good job [...] But there doesn’t seem to be a lot of passion for them."[39] Because Miraitowa and Someity did not appear during the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, a social media user named Suekichiii tweeted a popular picture depicting them watching the ceremony from home.[39][40]

Notes

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  1. ^ Originally scheduled to take place between 24 July and 9 August 2020, the 2020 Summer Olympics were rescheduled for 23 July to 8 August 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The Games kept the name "Tokyo 2020" for marketing and branding purposes despite being held in 2021.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Announce New Dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020". olympic.org. 30 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ^ McDonald, Scott (25 March 2020). "The Reason why Olympics in 2021 will still be called the 2020 Olympic Games". newsweek.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Tokyo 2020 Games Mascots". Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  4. ^ "2020 Tokyo Olympic organizers begin soliciting mascot ideas". The Japan Times. 1 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Tokyo 2020 lets children choose mascots from 3 finalists". NBC Sports. 7 December 2017. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Tokyo 2020 Unveils Olympic & Paralympic Mascots" (Press release). Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 30 May 2018. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  7. ^ Lang, Cady (27 December 2019). "The 2020 Summer Olympics Mascot Is Miraitowa: Here's What That Means". Time. Time USA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Mascot Candidates A". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Mascot Candidates B". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Mascot Candidates C". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  11. ^ "10th Meeting of the Mascot Selection Panel" (Press release). Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Olympic mascots Miraitowa and Someity invoke the future and cherry trees for 2020 Games". The Japan Times. AFP-JIJI. 22 July 2018. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Hueston, Dave (3 May 2018). "Tokyo 2020 mascot designer draws inspiration from the scenic route". Kyodo News. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Tokyo 2020 Mascots". Tokyo 2020. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Mascots, Miraitowa and Someity have finally Debut!". Tokyo 2020. 22 July 2018. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Paralympic mascot named Someity". Official website of the Paralympic Movement. International Paralympic Committee. 22 July 2018. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  17. ^ a b c "Cuddly and cute, but will Japan's Olympic mascots be cash cows?". The Japan Times. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Adelstein, Jake. "Japan's Cute Blue And Pink Mascots Are Here To Boost The Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Forbes. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  19. ^ Gallagher, Chris (27 February 2018). "Olympics: Futuristic pointy-eared mascots chosen for Tokyo 2020". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  20. ^ Tarrant, Jack (22 April 2018). "Tokyo 2020 must address questions, says IOC's Coates". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Mascots". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Games committee unveils new merchandise". Kyodo News. 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Tokyo 2020 medallists' bouquets sourced from earthquake-affected areas". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Tokyo Games organizers unveil designs of medalist bouquets". The Japan Times. Kyodo. 13 November 2019. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  25. ^ Wharton, David (22 July 2019). "Robots will be part of the 2020 Olympics experience in Tokyo". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  26. ^ "High-Fiving Robots Are Going to Be Very Busy Helpers at the 2020 Olympics. Here's Everything They Can Do". Time. 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Olympics: Local children, parents spell out "1 Year to Go" message". Kyodo News. 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  28. ^ AFP (18 November 2019). "'Kawaii!' Olympic robot mascots thrill Tokyo students". RTL Today. RTL Luxembourg. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  29. ^ @Tokyo2020jp (22 July 2019). "ミライトワが東京2020オリンピックの競技に挑戦" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 July 2019 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Valentine, Evan (25 July 2019). "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Kick Off Marketing With Anime Promo". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  31. ^ Singh, Shashank (23 July 2019). "Tokyo Olympics 2020 Mascots star in an Exclusive Animated Video". The Geek Herald. TheGeekHerald.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  32. ^ @Tokyo2020jp (25 August 2019). "#ソメイティ が東京2020パラリンピックの22競技に挑戦" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 August 2019 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (28 February 2018). "The Tokyo Olympic Mascots Look Like Pokémon". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  34. ^ a b McQuade, Dan (28 February 2018). "Will Japan's Olympic Mascot Be A Soohorang Or An Izzy?". Deadspin. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  35. ^ "Doe-eyed superhero picked for Tokyo 2020 mascot". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Agence France-Presse (AFP). 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Olympic mascots unveiled after children's vote". BBC. 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  37. ^ Tanaka, Yukari (24 February 2018). "Success of Pyeongchang Olympic mascots leaves Japan in a bind". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  38. ^ Dator, James (28 February 2018). "Tokyo 2020 mascots aren't Stoned Cat and Leaf Bear because kids have no taste". SB Nation. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  39. ^ a b c d e Ives, Mike; Hida, Hikari (27 July 2021). "The Olympic Mascots Aren't Winning Any Medals". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  40. ^ @suekichiii (23 July 2021). "開会式出たかったな…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2020 Summer Olympics mascots.
Preceded by Olympic mascot
Miraitowa
Tokyo 2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Paralympic mascot
Someity
Tokyo 2020 		Succeeded by
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