Hikone

JCMU students will miss Hikone Castle's spectacular sakura this year.

The 43 students studying Japanese at The Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) in Hikone have been ordered to return to the U.S. by March 25, 2011. The 2011 Spring semester students have been in Shiga since September 2010.

On March 18, the JCMU head office in Lansing, Michigan suspended the spring semester and gave the evacuation order based on a US State Department travel advisory issued after the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami/radiation threat.

This travel advisory has since been revised and it no longer says that all Americans should leave Japan (no matter where they are). It recommends evacuation only within the 80km (50 mi.) radius from the nuclear plant in Fukushima.

This is a very regrettable development because Shiga Prefecture (and Kyoto) has been physically unaffected by the Tohoku disaster. It’s totally safe here, and things are normal (except for the current shortage of bottled water).

All the prefectures in Japan have been monitoring radiation levels, and absolutely no increase in radiation levels has been detected in Shiga.

I understand that worried families and school admins back home want their kids to leave Japan. But like so many sensationalized press reports, official reports, travel warnings, and mass behavior, leaving Shiga is a gross overreaction.

Japan is not a leper in this world. Unfortunately, outside the stricken areas, the psychological stress/damage/toll on people is greater than actual physical stress. Smoking a cigarette is much more lethal than breathing the air in Tokyo. I really hope people come to their senses soon.

To those leaving JCMU, I’m very sorry to see you go, especially when you’ll miss the cherry blossoms. Take care, and I hope that the May and Summer Programs will go ahead this year.

Hikone no Yoi Nyanko in Tokyo.

Hikone no Yoi-nyanko and Tanemaru at Yokohama Port Opening Expo.

Another snafu has erupted between the city of Hikone and Moheron (もへろん), the artist who created Hiko-nyan for Hikone Castle’s 400th anniversary celebration in 2007.

You might have noticed some Hiko-nyan merchandise being sold under the name “Hikone no Yoi Nyanko” (ひこねのよいにゃんこ). It looks exactly like Hiko-nyan, but under a different name and in poses different from what we usually see, and credited to Moheron.

In early Aug. 2009, I surprised to see my neighborhood convenience store in Tokyo selling Hikone no Yoi Nyanko dolls right next to the cash register, a very prominent place. (Photo above.) (But by late Aug., it was no longer there. They had either sold out or discontinued the product.) I also saw it sold together with Tanemaru, mascot character for the Yokohama Port’s 150th anniversary when I visited the port festival in Yokohama (photo above).

The city of Hikone has requested Moheron to stop marketing his Hiko-nyan lookalike. Copyright and trademark rights to Hiko-nyan had been obtained by the city, and Moheron was duly paid off (for a reported 1 million yen). Hiko-nyan was originally supposed to be used only for the castle’s celebration. However, Hiko-nyan has proved to be so popular nationally that Hikone decided to keep Hiko-nyan as its official mascot indefinitely. This upset Moheron who sought a court order in 2007 to stop Hikone from continuing to use Hiko-nyan. Both sides then reached an agreement where the city would be allowed to keep using Hiko-nyan as its mascot in three standard poses, while Moheron would be allowed to continue publishing his Hikone no Yoi Nyanko picture books for children. (Not sure if Moheron is male or female.)

But in the eyes of Hikone, Moheron has stepped out of bounds by starting to sell dolls and other souvenirs other than books. On Aug. 10, 2009, the city of Hikone issued a request to Osaka-based Moheron to stop sales of his Hiko-nyan lookalikes (other than the picture books), citing copyright and trademark infringement. He defiantly replied that it was possible for the same character to exist under two different names. Moheron claims that Hikone’s rights to Hiko-nyan are limited to the three original poses (showing Hiko-nyan jumping, sitting, and drawing a sword) adopted for the 400th castle celebration, and that he is freely allowed to create and market other poses of Hiko-nyan.

In late July 2009, the city requested local shops in Hikone to stop selling Moheron’s lookalike goods other than the picture books. But the shops did not comply (especially those in the Yonbancho Square shopping mall), citing that sales were good.

On Aug. 13, 2009, the Yonbancho Square shopping mall in Hikone, where both Hiko-nyan and Hikone no Yoi Nyanko goods are sold, distributed a flyer in the morning edition of major newspapers (circulation 60,000). It essentially said, “Please allow Hiko-nyan and Hikone no Yoi Nyanko to get along!” Yonbancho Square is actually a third-sector project, run as a joint venture by the city of Hikone and private companies. Hikone owns about 40% of the mall’s stock. The city’s own little baby rejected requests to stop selling Moheron’s goods. This embarrassment has prompted three city officials serving on the mall’s board of directors to resign, including a Vice-Mayor who served as Vice-President of the mall.

Everyone calls it “Hiko-nyan,” and I don’t see anyone (except Moheron) calling it anything else. You cannot call the same character two different names unless one is for Japan and the other is for overseas markets. Hikone does have the upper hand since they own the “Hiko-nyan” name (created by a naming contest) and everyone knows the name. Hikone no Yoi Nyanko is just too long as a name. (More apt as a picture book title which it is.) But Moheron is showing strong marketing skills with a national presence.

Hikone will either have to take Moheron to court or hope that the Hiko-nyan “imposter” will fizzle out naturally when people recognize that it’s not the original Hiko-nyan. It might be best to let the buying public decide whether they want only the real Hiko-nyan or both the real and “imitation” one.

*Hiko-nyan was created as the official mascot for the 400th anniversary celebration of Hikone Castle held in 2007. The city of Hikone accepted mascot proposals from professional illustrators and selected Moheron’s entry which was called “Kabuto-neko” (Helmeted Cat). The name “Hiko-nyan” was decided following a nationwide calling for a mascot name, and “Hiko-nyan” was selected.

Hiko-nyan (file photo)

Hikone’s official mascot Hiko-nyan will be off to Honolulu, Hawaii this weekend during June 5-7, 2009 to appear in the 30th Pan-Pacific Festival (also called “Matsuri in Hawaii”). This festival celebrates and promotes relations between Hawaii and mainly Japan. Numerous events are held during the weekend with hula dancing, arts and crafts fair, stage performances, concerts, parties, and the grand Pan-Pacific Parade on June 7, 2009 from 5 pm to 7 pm along Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki.

Hiko-nyan will appear in the Pan-Pacific Parade on June 7. It will be his first overseas trip, and a great opportunity to promote Shiga in Hawaii.

If you’re in Hawaii and can see the parade, please take pictures of Hiko-nyan send it to me.

More info and a map of the parade route at the official Web site:
http://www.pan-pacific-festival.com/E_Parade.aspx

Hikone View Hotel

The familiar white building with a triangular roof on Hikone’s lake shore has been a stand-out structure since 1981 when it opened as Hikone Prince Hotel. Ohmi Railways operated the hotel under the well-known Prince Hotel brand. In recent years, the hotel has struggled financially and we wondered what would happen to it. First I thought the neighboring Japan Center for Michigan Universities should acquire the property to expand the school and offer dormitory facilities.

Well, the hotel has been sold and it is being operated by a Tokyo-based company called Study, Co., Ltd. The hotel is now part of the Itoen Hotel Group, and on March 1, 2009, it was renamed Hikone View Hotel (彦根ビューホテル). I think it’s a good name, the hotel certainly gives a great view of Lake Biwa. However, it is not related to the View Hotels Group (viewhotels.co.jp) as in Asakusa View Hotel and Narita View Hotel.

In Oct. 2007, Ohmi Railways announced that it was looking to sell the Hikone Prince Hotel (along with three ski resorts) due to red ink.

The Itoen Hotel Group is a chain of over 30 hotels and ryokans mainly in the Kanto area (especially the Izu Peninsula). The company is known to acquire struggling or closed hotels and hot spring ryokan inns and offer cheaper rates to customers.

Indeed, the hotel rates at Hikone View Hotel is now cheaper than before. It costs only 7800 yen for one night and two meals. Whereas Hikone Prince charged 12,000 yen for the same deal. The hotel rates remain the same throughout the year as well. They don’t raise the rates during peak periods such as Golden Week and summer vacation. Lower rates are of course, very welcome. The hotel is also the place for people in northern Shiga to hold weddings, etc. I’ve attended a few wedding receptions there too, for my cousins. Let’s hope the company can turn around  the hotel’s fortunes.

Hotel Web site:
http://hikone.in/