Prince Chu, mascot of Chuo University
Because kawaii is everywhere in Japan, one doesn’t always notice it. Just recently I realized that Chuo University has its own cute mascot character.
Prince Chu (チュー王子)
“Prince Chu” (he/him) is a mouse sporting a bow tie and an opera cape. His crown bears the university logo. Prince Chu was created by economics student Rie Ohashi in 2013. Her design won first prize out of 172 entries. “Chu,” in addition to sounding like the name of the university, is also an onomatopoeia for the squeak of a mouse. So it all ties together.
Prince Chu is not merely a two-dimensional character. He also appears in a full-body suit worn by an invisible performer. This makes him a full-fledged “yuru-kyara” of the sort that represent local regions and organizations all over Japan. He shows up on campus occasionally but I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet.
When the computer department built their own 3D scanner, Prince Chu volunteered as a test subject. The first scan failed when he moved, but eventually they succeeded. You can see the results on YouTube.
Despite how it looks, he’s in there voluntarily!
Because kawaii is ever-present in Japan, after a while it’s hard to notice. Cuteness in general seems to slip under our radar. It took me a long time to notice Prince Chu, even though he appears on the sign above the main campus gate!
