What is Chiikawa?
Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu (literally “something cute and small”), more commonly known simply as Chiikawa, began as a web manga in January 2020. Created by an artist who goes by the pseudonym Nagano and serialized on X, the manga depicts the daily life of its titular character, Chiikawa, and their adventures with their two friends, Hachiware and Usagi, in an alternative civilized world of open grasslands and dense forests. The three main characters all have animal-like features: the titular Chiikawa resembles a hamster, Hachiware is often interpreted as a cat, and Usagi has long ears resembling those of a rabbit. Despite these similarities, Nagano has denied any clear answers, preferring to describe these characters as genderless, cute creatures.
Indeed, from the manga’s title alone, it is clear that Chiikawa follows Japan’s kawaii aesthetic, which, since its inception in the second half of the twentieth century, has developed into a core aspect of Japan’s cultural identity. Characters designed in this aesthetic often have exaggerated facial features, such as large, round eyes, a small nose and mouth, and a rounded contour. Taken together, these characteristics evoke childlike innocence and invite a nurturing response from the viewer-consumer. The use of soft, pastel colors is another key feature that further emphasizes softness and gentleness. As seen in the image of the three main Chiikawa characters at the top of this page, white and soft pink dominate the palette, with accents of light blue and custard yellow. Chiikawa’s predecessors include Hello Kitty, Pikachu from the Pokémon franchise, and Doraemon, the titular character of the manga and anime series Doraemon.
Many of the manga strips, such as the one shown here, function as self‑contained episodes. This particular strip, published by Nagano in late November 2025, has a special Christmas theme. It shows Usagi wearing a Christmas tree costume and presumably humming a Christmas melody (Usagi only makes sounds), while Chiikawa and Hachiware question whether it is too early to get into the Christmas spirit. In the bottom left panel, Usagi eats fried chicken, a common Christmas tradition in Japan. At the same time, there are other strips that link together to form an ongoing narrative. The longest and most notable narrative arc is the island/siren arc, in which the main characters visit an island in search of food and unexpectedly encounter a dangerous siren.
While Chiikawa may not be as popular globally as its predecessors, it is catching up. Nagano currently has over 4.4 million followers on their X page, and countless derivative accounts offer English, Chinese, Korean, and several other language subtitles for the manga. In 2022, the manga was adapted into an anime series, and, on Nov. 24th 2025, it was announced that an anime film based on the island/siren arc will be released in late 2026, titled Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island. Videos about Chiikawa can also be found on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, many of which have garnered millions of viewers. Beyond screen adaptations, the franchise has also expanded through themed cafes and restaurants, pop‑up stores in cities such as Hong Kong, Busan, and New York City, and collaborations with international brands such as Converse, McDonald’s, and MINISO. Locally, there are merchandise shops in cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, each selling items unique to its location, making them popular destinations for locals and tourists who engage in the Chiikawa collector culture.
Yet, there was something peculiar about the merchandise store located right beside the Fushimi Inari Taisha. The presence of the store felt jarring, incoherent with the traditional, religious atmosphere surrounding it. Why is this shop, a product of Japan’s secular kawaii culture and emblem of the nation’s soft power, located right next to one of the nation’s most revered Shinto shrines? I continued ruminating on this question as I stepped into the shop myself. Fushimi Inari-themed keychains, stationery, and plushies fill the pastel-palette room.
A particular item caught my eye. It was a small Hachiware plushie, not much bigger than my hand. Its red bib and foxlike costume, which gave Hachiware a teardrop-shaped tail, revealed that this plushie is modeled after a kitsune, much like the statues I had come across during my hike. Picking it up, I hear a light ringing sound emanating from what feels like a bell inside the plushie, echoing the suzu at the sub-shrines.
While this plushie, by embedding religious symbols into this secular, kawaii commercial product, somewhat merges the two seemingly disconnected aesthetics, the very merging of kawaii and religion warrants further examination. How are we supposed to negotiate and mediate between the disparate meanings encompassed by this plushie? And, why is the doll designed after a kitsune, a guardian figure? Is it somehow connected to a hidden danger—a danger from which this doll is meant to protect its owner? Taking a deeper dive into the socioeconomic context in which kawaii franchises like Chiikawa emerged and into the religious symbols embedded in this particular Hachiware kitsune plush toy may offer some answers to these questions.
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