Identify this kitty.

A friend of mine from San Fransisco gave Madame this stuffed toy (pictured) and I can't figure out what it's called. It's made by Sanrio and is obviously some sort of Hello Kitty plushie, except where Hello Kitty's body should be is a green, cylindrical shaped thing. There are pictures of what seem to be watermelons around the side of it, so I've taken to calling it "Watermelon Kitty." The tag says "Nyanko Party" and has a link to San-X.co.jp which, although it's fun to look at, if you don't speak Japanese (which I don't) isn't much help. Does anyone out there know anything about it? And what is it about this kind of bizarre Japanese stuff that makes me love it so?

Comments

[Jason]

So I just wrote a friend whom I thought would know, and got this back:

You haven't heard of the Nyanko kitty collection?!?!  Check this link out for all the CRAZY "kitty" stuff:
http://www.spiralandcircle.com/Japanesecollectibles.htm

Still don't know what "nyanko" means (something about food?), but scroll down and you'll see that you have the highly collectible (it seems) "San X Nyanko Cat Dessert Cake Series Plush--Green Tea." Says the website:

This is the yummiest cake ever! Nyanko cat is now transformed to different types of dessert cake, such as grape, green tea, chocolate mousse and the Christmas cake. It is made of super super soft material! It has some beans inside the plush as well. Once you hold it on hand, you don't want to let it go! Each piece is bigger than the real one you seen in the restaurant for sure!

So basically, you and your baby are the proud owners of a "green tea cake cat". Weird, huh? But check out some of the even weirder stuff.

BTW, I've been lurking on your site for a while now, since before my baby girl was born on Halloween, and you've pointed me in the direction of a lot of the other daddy/sahd blogs I read on a regular basis, so thanks!

[Gina Mignon Lopez]

Actually, the above is correct about the cake. But the PURPOSE of the pillow is to take it to a slumber party and use it for a pillow! Cute, huh?!?!?

[Yolanda]

This is a Nyan Nyan Nyanko plush. There are lots of Nyanko products out there including plushes, stationery, notepads, pens, pencils, mugs, cards, etc.! The company that puts them out is called San-X and is based in Japan. San-X is sort of like Sanrio; they produce adorable products based on characters that they create. Some Sanrio characters include Hello Kitty and Badtz Maru, and some San-X characters include Tare Panda, Nyanko, and Kogepan.

If you want to see more Nyanko products, you can go to the official San-X Nyanko site here.

Also,">http://www.san-x.co.jp/nyanko/index.html">here.

Also, you can see the wide range of Nyanko items available here.

A cheap place to buy Nyanko goods is here (they spell it "Nyanco," so make sure to search for it under that spelling).

I am a BIG Nyanko fan and I own lots of Nyanko products. In fact, I discovered Nyanko when I was working near Japantown in San Francisco. There's a store in Japantown called Kinokuniya Stationery and Gift (KSG, for short) that sells Nyanko products, as well as other San-X merchandise.

Hopefully, what I've told you has been of some help. You can join my Yahoo Group for Nyanko if you're interested.

[Lauren]

I shop for my Nyanko at www.snailmailcorner.com - there's a whole store full of San-X and Sanrio. Too kawaii - I can spend all day looking at that site! Where is the Nyanko Yahoo Group? I want to join!

[Lauren]

Oh - by the way, Nyanko means "Kitty" - Nyanko are kittens who like to mimic foodstuffs and other items :)

[D-chan]

As said, Nyanko means kitty. See, the Japanese sound for a cat's meow is something like myaa, nyaa, or nyan, and the suffix of ko roughly means "child of". "Nyan Nyan Nyanko" is like "Mew Mew Kitty".

Here's what I have learned about Nyanko. They come from a place called Nyanko village and are very good at imitating different objects, particularly food. They also get bored easily so they imitate a lot of different things. They look yummy but are not edible ^_^

[Nemukko]

It is the oh-so famous nyanko mart brand. I have collected that merchendise since I was 7, and it always caught my eye at the stores. From what I have heard, they are little kittys that get bored easily and imitate various foods. The brands include Nyanko Party, Nyanko-mart, and the ever so loveable Nyanko burger.

[Nemukko]

t is the oh-so famous nyanko mart brand. I have collected that merchendise since I was 7, and it always caught my eye at the stores. From what I have heard, they are little kittys that get bored easily and imitate various foods. The brands include Nyanko Party, Nyanko-mart, and the ever so loveable Nyanko burger.

[Nemukko]

Why did D-chan post what I did right before I posted it...? 0.O

[tomo, marimo or FKO]

Hello there! I'm yukus working At Strapya (selling japanese phone strap to all over the world...) I was searching the blogs about San-X and wow! This nyanko is very cute* Nyanko will be available next month ^^