Tarepanda

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Tarepanda

Tarepanda (たれぱんだ), which means "lazy" panda or "droopy" panda in Japanese, is a panda character who gets around by rolling, since he is so lazy (at 2.75 meters per hour, according to company literature). [1] "Tare" means lying on the tummy. He loves to eat mochi and relax in teacups.

1 Creation
2 Merchandise
3 Tare Panda Restaurant
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Creation

Hikaru Suemasa, creator of TarePanda is said to have been inspired to fashion the character in this way when she became tired. After many attempts at drawing the character, she became fatigued and laid down to relax. After this she created a lazy panda lying on the ground. She named it TarePanda.

TarePanda is licensed by San-X, which introduced Tarepanda stickers in 1995. In February 1998, San-X launched Tarepanda erasers and letter pads, which proved enormous hits. San-X believed these products were successful because they were released shortly after the Asian financial crisis of autumn 1997, a time when many people in Japan were facing layoffs. "Many office workers felt exhausted thinking about the dark cloud hanging over the economy, which had grown unhindered until that time," said Kenji Sone of San-X. "I guess they saw a little bit of themselves in the worn-out panda character, so they were sympathetic toward it." By 1999, sales of TarePanda goods had reached 30 billion yen.^[1]