Latest news with #YumetoKanemaru
Asahi Shimbun
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Like a teddy bear, a stuffed toy often works to ease stress
Yumeto Kanemaru, a rookie pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons professional baseball club, brings stuffed toys to his dormitory in January. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) My name is Nui, which is short for 'nuigurumi,' meaning cuddle toy in Japanese. There are many of us, and we bring comfort to tired humans. Our function changed dramatically some years ago, broadening the scope of our activities. How did that happen? I'll try my best to explain. Did you always think stuffed toys are just for children to play with at home? Sorry, you've got that wrong. Nowadays, even grownups bring their nuigurumi toys when they eat out or go on a trip. This is collectively referred to in colloquial Japanese as 'nui-katsu,' which may translate loosely as 'doing things with plushies.' People of all ages--kids, adults and seniors--are into nui-katsu today. If you have your favorite nuigurumi, you'd call it 'oshi-nui' (my fave plushie). 'Nui-dori' means taking videos and pictures of nuigurumi and posting them on social media. That's become quite a fad. And more recently, there are even 'events' that let people send their nuigurumi toy to a museum for an overnight stay, so it can 'closely appreciate' works of art on the owner's behalf. If you watched professional baseball news on television in January, you will remember seeing many rookie ballplayers entering their dormitories, one after another, hugging big stuffed toys: bears, lions or even nuigurumi of the popular manga character Doraemon. In the tough world of professional baseball, the presence of these cuddly toys must be a source of comfort. The nuigurumi market couldn't be in better shape, ringing up 45 billion yen ($311.4 million) in annual sales. What's the secret of this incredible success? Humans are trying to figure it out, I know. One explanation is the lack of human contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another centers on nuigurumi helping to simplify interpersonal communication. But at the end of the day, let me say that our relationship with our human 'owners' is much more complex. Some people seek comfort and healing from us. Some say that we are their best buddies ever. And we are happy with you people. That's good enough, right? --The Asahi Shimbun, July 5 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
The Mainichi
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Dragons fall to Giants, but rookie pitcher Kanemaru shines
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Top prospect Yumeto Kanemaru struck out seven in six innings of one-run ball but fell short of his first Nippon Professional Baseball win as the Chunichi Dragons lost 4-2 to the Yomiuri Giants on Friday. Making his second start as a pro, the 22-year-old southpaw limited the Giants to three hits and no walks at Tokyo Dome. His only blemish came in the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a solo home run to Riku Masuda. "I'm making good adjustments, so I'm not worried," said Kanemaru, picked by Chunichi in the first round of last October's draft. The former Kansai University standout was otherwise sharp, painting the corners with his fastball, which clocked in at over 150 kilometers per hour. His breaking ball control improved as the game progressed, enabling him to throw consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth. Seiji Uebayashi homered twice for the Dragons, tying the game 1-1 in the sixth and putting his team up 2-1 in the top of the eighth before the Giants turned the game around on Naoki Yoshikawa's three-run bomb.
