#whyfunassyi

Back in May, veteran journalist, TV news commentator and former editor-in-chief of Newsweek Japan Keigo Takeda tweeted a series of remarks about Funassyi that attracted a lot of attention, both for their very positive content and for the surprising source. Unfortunately, Takeda revealed later in the year that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer, although he continued working almost until the end. He passed away on Sunday, January 10th; he was only 51. 

Funassyi tweeted the following to Takeda’s account after his passing, as a reply to Takeda's tweet back in May where he said "I love Funassyi so very much": 

@KeigoTakeda ありがとうございますなっしー(。゜▽゜)いつかお会いする日に膝を付け合わせてお話しさせてくださいなっし。 最後まで立派でしたなっし。 ゆっくりと安らかにおやすみなさいなっし。

Thank you so much nassyi- (。゜▽゜) When we meet each other someday, please let me sit knee to knee next to you and talk to you nassyi. You were so splendid until the end, Please rest in peace nassyi. 

And in his following tweet, along with his usual good night to his fans, he added: 

良いも悪いも生きてこそ、思い出いっぱい頭に詰め込んで目一杯元気に過ごしてなっしなー♪ みんな幸せな時間を梨汁ブシャー;,"

Good and bad things happen because you’re alive, (so) fill your head with lots of memories and take every day with lots of energy, ok nassyi-. May everyone have happy times, pear juice bushaa--

Funassyi has a strangely calming and cheering effect on a lot of people, especially those who are going through hard times in one way or another. This is not just because he’s cute, or loud and cheerful - it’s a combination of all that plus the often wise and down-to-earth things he says via Twitter as well as in interviews, the way he conducts his career and deals with fans, and so on. This is the main theme of Banana Yoshimoto’s novel Funafuna Funabashi, and I personally ‘discovered’ Funassyi when I was going through some hard times physically and mentally. I wonder a little if Mr. Takeda’s cancer led him to revise his former feelings about Funassyi. In any case, hopefully Funassyi provided some solace and comfort for him. 

I do not know if there is a heaven, but if there is, I hope Mr. Takeda’s version is full of happy pear fairies. 

Keigo Takeda’s obituary in the Japan Times 

Keigo Takeda is a well respected veteran journalist. Formerly the editor in chief of Newsweek Japan, he is a regular on several TV news and information shows.  Back in May 2013, during the first wave of Funassyi-mania, he tweeted that "Funassyi was creepy" (ふなっしーって気持ち悪い). He tweeted about Funassyi again a few days later, saying that if Funassyi had appeared for the Tokyo Olympic Committee at the IOC that Tokyo would have probably lost the bid. Clearly he didn't have a very good opinion of the pear fairy back then.

But a few days ago on May 3, 2015 (when the Antarctica show was airing, although it's not clear if he was watching it) Takeda suddenly tweeted this:

ふなっしーが好きで好きで仕方がない。

I love Funassyi so very much.

This statement was met with a lot of astonishment. It’s a well known fact that most of Funassyi’s fans are female (as are most fans of cute mascots). It’s not unusual for female journalists to write positively about Funassyi, but when a male journalist writes about the pear fairy it is often with a certain reserve and disdain, save for being awed or jealous about his economic impact and guesstimated net worth.

A couple of days later, Takeda posted another tweet explaining why he liked Funassyi so much:

ふなっしーの好きなところ：１）自分のブームを醒めた目で見てる。２）でも応援してくれる人への感謝を忘れない。３）クソ仕事でも手を抜かない。４）世の中を達観してるけど冷笑しない。５）前向きだけど現実的。６）頭の回転超早い。７）ユーモア抜群で毒も吐く。８）誰にも威張らず媚びず、慈しむ。

What I love about Funassyi: 1) He regards his own popularity with cool objectivity. 2) But he never forgets to express his gratitude towards the people who support him. 3) Even if he gets a shitty assignment, he gives it his all. 4) He has a detached, philosophical view of the world, but doesn’t sneer at it. 5) He’s positive and forward-thinking, but also down to earth and practical. 6) He’s very intelligent thinks on his feet well. 7) His sense of humor is unparalleled, and tongue can be quite sharp too. 8) He doesn’t put on airs with anyone, nor does he suck up to anyone, and treats everyone with kindness.

Very high praise indeed.

In reply to this statement, Hajime Ogawa, General Managing Editor of the Tokyo Head Office of Mainichi Shimbun, one of the major national daily newspapers in Japan, tweeted the following:

捜査関係者から聞いた割と確度の高い話。税務署がふなっしーの税務調査に入りましたが、納税漏れはゼロだったとか。自営業者が徹底調査されてゼロは極めて珍しく、担当者は「非の打ち所のない税務処理だ」と感心していたそうです。恐るべしふなっしー。

This is a highly reliable story that I heard from someone involved in the investigation. The Tax Office [the Japanese equivalent of the IRS in the US] went to do an audit on Funassyi, but apparently he had zero back taxes due. It’s highly unusual for a small independent business to be thoroughly audited and for there to be zero taxes due, and apparently the auditor was impressed, saying “[Funassyi’s] tax accounting is faultless”. Funassyi is unbelievable. 

Funassyi hasn’t said anything in public about this public outpouring of admiration from two well regarded “hard news” journalists.

Photo source: Funassyi

Related news article

One of the main incentives besides this blog is to try to explain why Funassyi is so popular in Japan to an audience that don't understand what he's saying. While some parts of Funassyi are easy to see, not to mention hear, other parts only come through in his speech.

Unfortunately, even when he has an interpreter on hand, the true gist of what he says may get lost in translation. A case in point is this AFP wire article (here from Yahoo! News) about his recent press conference (full video here). The article states:

"I was a celebrity in New York -- people were going crazy," the yellow blob told foreign reporters in Tokyo. "They're going to hang my picture in the Empire State Building, along with the Crown Prince and Yoko Ono."

This makes Funassyi look like he's bragging - which is something he never does in public. What he actually said, when asked what the reactions were to him when he was walking around in New York, was this:

Well, the tourists from Japan were very excited anyway. But I was really happy that many girls that saw me were squealing in delight. when they saw me too.

About being featured in the Famous Visitors (or celebrities) gallery at the Empire State Building:

[The Empire State Building people] told me that the only other famous Japanese people [to be included] are His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince [of Japan], the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. and Yoko Ono. I was like, is it really OK to include Funassyi [in that group]!??