Yikes! This week in Japan, photos of a puppet popped up online. The puppet appeared on a kid's program in Japan. Online, commenters are saying its head looks "totally" like a dildo.
Note: This article contains content some readers might find objectionable.
The show in question is called Nihongo de Asobo ("Let's Play in Japanese") and teaches young children about the Japanese as well as traditional Japanese culture. In this episode, bunraku (a type of puppet theater) was performed.
Twitter user @xxxenxxx uploaded these three images, which have been retweeted over three thousand times and are currently circulating on 2ch, the country's largest bulletin board.
The images themselves are not new; however, the puppet appeared on an episode that was re-broadcasted this Thursday in Japan. On Thursday, other Twitter users commented that the puppet's head looked like, um, something, and one uploaded a photo after it aired:
The segment was apparently first broadcasted back in 2012, which did not go unnoticed at the time. And as one internet commenter pointed out, this looks to be Fukurokuju, one of the Seven Lucky Gods. Which makes sense, but...
While phallic, his head doesn't usually look like it's covered in foreskin and it doesn't get erect in front of folks. But, in traditional bunraku theater, that's how the puppet is designed! It was not created especially for the program per se, as evident by these photos:
Still, online in Japan, people are saying this puppet's head looks like a penis, because most people aren't that familiar with traditional puppet theater. A few are even having a good time with the pics, creating these Photoshops:
This comes as another morning show's first kid came under fire for using inappropriate English phrases. This doesn't look to be designed with sexual intent—it's just how the puppet looks. Which is really, really like a penis.
今日のEテレ「にほんごであそぼ」の人形浄瑠璃、ごめんなさい、どうしても、人形の頭が、アレに見えてしまいます [@xxxenxxx via 2ch]
にほんごであそぼ 浄瑠璃コーナー 笑う門には福が来るのか [ゆきまろ]
Photo: ヒロ坊の多趣味のブログ
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.