Offbeat ‘Objets d’Art’ Are Rather Commonplace in Japan · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Narita hot dog dude” by Flickr user Joi Ito. Image license: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).
A blogger by the name of bluebluelucky at the Japanese curation site Naver Matome, has collected some of Japan's strangest “objets d'art” from social media users all around the country. The highlighted pieces are essentially large sculptures that are not quite art and have no apparent purpose, according to bluebluelucky:
町を歩いていると、特に公園などでたまに変なオブジェを見かけるのですが、あれは誰のため、何のためにあるのでしょうか…？　考えているうちにまとめてしまいました。まとめた後も、わかりませんでした…。
When walking around town, especially in parks and playgrounds, you often see strange ‘objets d'art’. Wondering who and what are they for, I gathered some images together, although I am still not sure of the answer.
The sculptures are typically puzzling, often weird, and sometimes even a little menacing:
みんなの遠足ログ♫　【川口運動公園】竹を噛み砕いている外見がとてもホラーなパンダ。新潟中越沖大地震の影響で来園者数が大幅に減っていたが、テレビでこのパンダが紹介されてから見に来る方々が増えたそうだ。　投稿者：おざわ隊長 pic.twitter.com/yZ0YEItL5i
— 終末オトナ遠足 (@otonapicnic) May 20, 2016
Here's a report from our field trip ♫: (Kawaguchi Athletic Park) The panda chewing on bamboo is a horrible sight. While not as many people have come to see this panda as a result of the 2007 Niigata earthquake, thanks to a TV show that introduced this panda, more and more people are coming to see it (again).
This particular sculpture (apparently a pump for a well) is supposed to resemble Doraemon, Japan's most beloved anime character, but, as is typical with playground sculptures in Japan, there's something a little off:
色々とヤバい、地元の公園にあるオブジェ(?) pic.twitter.com/y4J2RzbI6j
— Tee (@yukiguniTH) March 16, 2016
There are a lot of things wrong with this objet d'art (?) at the local park.
Odd-looking animals are not at all unusual in Japan's parks and playgrounds:
近所の公園のライオンのオブジェから狂気を感じる件 pic.twitter.com/T6RPe884qc
— もっきゅ?? (@mokkyu09) July 2, 2014
This lion at the local park is totally nuts!
公園ってたまに狂気しか感じない遊具とかオブジェがあるよね！
こっち見んな☆ pic.twitter.com/Up4OJHCsuD
— リンさん (@mastigiaspapua4) April 6, 2016
Sometimes there is some pretty crazy playground equipment and objets d'art at the park!
Rural tourist attractions in Japan can also harbor some very odd (and some might say creepy) statuary:
【宮崎・みやまどり苑】生駒高原のすぐそばにある日本一猪料理店。日本一怪しい公園・ダルマの里を経営していた人物が以前は運営していたためか、店の外にはひょっとこ親子や巨大なヤマトタケル像、イノシシ像等、ややくたびれた感のある像が立ち並ぶ pic.twitter.com/M0gn6JWxvU
— B面 （B級スポット・珍スポットガイド） (@bii_men) May 9, 2016
Miyamidori Park, Miyazaki: Quite close to Ikoma Highlands there's Japan's best wild boar restaurant. There's also Japan's spookiest public park. I'm not sure if it's from the person who ran the park in the past, but outside the restaurant there's a statue of a mother and child *and* a giant statue of Prince Osu, plus a statue of a wild boar. The statues are all kind of weather-beaten, too.
みやまどり苑に立ち寄った。
もともとはもう閉鎖した日本一怪しい公園のオブジェだったらしいです。
日本一怪しい公園行きたかったな〜 pic.twitter.com/XZ3oXdmicO
— しらたきめんのスープ (@ccbbbc) May 1, 2016
Found in Miyamidori Park. This used to be in Japan's spookiest park which is now closed. Man, I wanted to go to that park.
愛媛県北宇和郡鬼北町の鬼の銅像ですっ！
テレビで見たことあったけど、実際に見るとめっちゃ迫力あるw
鬼の肩に乗っているのは、キジです。 pic.twitter.com/GOIjgRIeY1
— ねね (@mofu_wa) May 1, 2016
This is a bronze stature found in Oni (ogre)-Kita township, in Uwa, Ehime Prefecture! While I've seen it on television, up close it's really impressive, lol. A pheasant is perched on the ogre's shoulder.
Other objets d'art are good examples of the whimsy that can be so much a part of Japanese culture:
静かな狂気を感じる公園のオブジェ#taipei https://t.co/w7lnPi5FYf pic.twitter.com/JlFTiTi607
— 鈴木マイ (@mai_siesta) April 16, 2016
An objet d'art that evokes a quiet feeling of madness.
Some, however, are just strange.
岐阜の土岐プレミアムアウトレット行った。近くに奇妙なオブジェがあって思わずぱしゃり。タイトルは「KAGUYA-SYSTEM」怖い。 pic.twitter.com/zG5M8sRGnV
— シャカイフテキゴー@TRAGICS (@_BREEEEZE_) May 24, 2015
I went to Toki Premium Outlet Mall in Gifu Prefecture. There's a strange objet d'art nearby that I could not resist taking a picture of. It's called KAGUYA-SYSTEM. It gives me the creeps.
In fact, many visitors to Japan have likely encountered the country's most famous objet d'art, otherwise known as “the hot dog guy”:
成田空港でみかけた狂気を感じるオブジェ貼っておくね。 pic.twitter.com/2DzuuTxsR9
— ぺち太 (@plamizo_pechita) March 16, 2014
There is a really unsettling objet d'art in the arrivals hall of Narita Interational Airport (outside of Tokyo).
Check out even more unusual Japanese objets d'art at Naver Matome.