Totoro and the Catbus are ready to help you get started on wishing for good luck and happiness even before we get to nengajo season.
Japan doesn’t really do Christmas cards, but the country does have a custom of New Year’s cards, or nengajo, as they’re called in Japanese. The end of the year tends to be an especially busy time, though, especially since the end of December/start of January is a vacation period in Japan, meaning people are often scrambling to wrap up work or school projects.
So for anyone who needs a hand getting their New Year’s cards looking extra-nice, there’s a very helpful assistant on the way: Totoro!
Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku has just released its lineup of nengajo stamps for this year, with four different designs featuring adorable My Neighbor Totoro artwork. Pictured above is the big forest spirit himself, playing his ocarina while his Small Totoro counterpart is perched on his head and one of Japan’s phrases for “Happy New Year” appears written in kanji characters.
▼ The phrase geishun, used in written greetings, is made with the kajnji for “welcoming” (迎) and “spring” (春), harkening back to classical Japanese seasonal concepts in which spring was considered to start soon after the new year.
Of course, you don’t have to use this stamp exclusively for New Year’s cards. Put a little scrap of paper or some other sort of cover on the part of your inkpad where the contours of the kanji would come into contact with the ink, and you could stamp just the Totoros anywhere you’d like.
Similarly, while this stamp with the Small Totoro riding a ram, the Chinese Zodiac animal for 2027 (which Japan starts recognizing from January 1), will still be cute year-round, and could also work as a decorative accent at the lunar New Year
The Soot Sprite design, with a stylized Catbus too, sports an array of traditional Japanese good-luck items (a fan, top, and gourd), which are especially appropriate at New Year’s, but wouldn’t be out of place on any note or letter you’re giving to someone who you’re wishing good fortune on.
And last, the Catbus solo stamp has the famous feline dashing towards Omedetou gozaimasu, a version of “Happy New Year” for both spoken conversation and written correspondence, rendered all in phonetic hiragana script, making it a fun message that should be easy to read for any acquaintances who’re starting their journey towards Japanese proficiency.
The Small Totoro/ram and Soot Sprite/Catbus stamps are priced at 792 yen (US$5) each, the Catbus solo stamp 1,265 yen, and the Big Totoro/Small Totoro design 1,540 yen. They’re all available through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store here right now for anyone who’s getting a very early start on their New Year’s Cards, or for anyone who needs Totoro’s help with some other arts and crafts projects right now.
Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4)
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