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\n<\/div>\n

| <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve always thought that the one thing our school was missing was a mascot. While Atom-kun is great and all, unfortunately he\u2019s already taken. So, we needed something new. And here he is!<\/p>\n

$\"Gen-kun\"$ <\/p>\n

Say hello to Gen-kun! Our Japanese pottery teacher, Mr. Shimozaki, was kind enough to design him for us. Gen-kun is a benevolent demon. He is made up of 12 parts, one for each animal in the Chinese zodiac, and has three faces:
-One face to bring happiness
-One face to ward off evil
-One face that sees the truth<\/p>\n

The image above was created by our intern, Clarice, based on drawings by Mr. Shimozaki. Gen-kun should be a prominent part of our new website design, due shortly.<\/p>\n

Of course, since Mr. Shimozaki is a potter, Gen-kun isn\u2019t just a logo \u2013 he\u2019s also immortalized in clay! 10cm-high Gen-kun sculptures are on display in our gallery, and available for sale through GenkiJACS. Each statue is unique, and it is rumored that rubbing his stomach will bring happiness.<\/p>\n

His name comes from the first character of the word \u5143\u6c17 (Genki)<\/a>. \u5143 means the source or beginning. \u304f\u3093 (\u201ckun\u201d) is a cute suffix added to male names.<\/p>\n

$\"Gen-kun$
Now, here’s where it gets difficult. Mr. Shimozaki gave us some text that goes with Gen-kun. We’ve tried to translate it to English, but it\u2019s a little idiosyncratic, and it’s hard to translate puns\u2026 Anyway, here goes:<\/p>\n

They say that to turn happiness upside down is to invite happiness.
People say I have a \u798f\u9854 (“fukugao”, happy face), but if you turn happiness upside down you get $\"kufugao\"$ (“kufugao”). If you turn that word upside down, you get $\"fukuoka\"$ .
It’s pronounced “Fukuoka” of course!<\/p>\n

– My birthday: the day you bought me
– My hobbies: Reading people\u2019s hearts
– Favorite thing: Listening to you complain
– Favorite phrase: “Are you genki?”
– When you’re happy, you won’t see me any more\u2026<\/p>\n

$\"Gen-kun$ <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"