Moyai statue

In Japan, a statue (モヤイ像) is a type of stone statue originally created in the Japanese village of Niijima, located in the Izu Islands. The statues, which were created to promote awareness of Niijima, are themed and modeled after the moai of Easter Island. The statues may be found across Japan, where they often serve as local landmarks. A statue in Shibuya, which serves as a popular rendezvous location in the area, was the inspiration and original design for the "moyai" emoji (🗿).

Background
Moyai statues are created in Niijima, a village which is administratively part of Tokyo but located far from the city proper, in the Izu Islands. They were conceived of in 1978 by Yuichi Daigo, a local artisan and tourism director who aimed to raise awareness of the village. During the 1970s and 1980s, Niijima created and gifted several of these statues to various locales in Japan. They are loosely inspired by moai, megalithic statues built by the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island.

The statues are made from kōgaseki (抗火石), a special type of pumice mined only in Niijima and on the Italian island of Lipari. As it is lightweight due to being extremely porous, one can easily carve it using only a chisel. Many statues, including the one located in Shibuya, are made from this stone.

The word is a pun between the word "moai" and the stem form of two Japanese verbs: 舫い, and 催合い,. The second of these verbs, 催合う (moyau), is currently a dialectal word chiefly used in Niijima, though historically it was a part of standard everyday Japanese.

Shibuya Station
【奇跡が起きました】 先日『じーちゃんが作った渋谷モヤイ像が排気ガスや喫煙所からの有害物質により汚れていて悲しい. なんとかしたい』と投稿したところ、たくさんの方の拡散やお力をいただき数十年の汚れをこんなに綺麗にしていただきました！ 本当にありがとうございます！SNSの力にも感謝です. 22 Feb 2018 A moyai statue is a prominent landmark near Shibuya Station: it is visible from the station's west exit and is located shortly past it. Like the Statue of Hachikō which stands closeby, the moyai statue serves as a popular meeting spot. On holidays it is crowded in the late afternoon, though due to a greater number of passersby in the adjacent intersection, Hachikō tends to be more busy and the comparatively quiet.

The statue was designed by Oogo Tomoichi, a kokeshi maker and director of Niijima's tourism association. In 1980, it was donated from Niijima to Shibuya in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Niijima's incorporation into Tokyo. The unveiling ceremony was held on 25 September 1980 and hidden in the thick grass is a nameplate with "" inscribed onto it along with the unveiling date.

The Shibuya moyai bears a passing resemblance to Easter Island moai, though it has many novel features: for example, it lacks a torso and has a head of wavy hair. It possesses two faces, one which faces a bus stop and one which faces a set of rental lockers. According to Hajime Umatsu, the original sculptor's grandson, the two faces are a pun on the village of Niijima's name: the wavy-haired face represents the "nii-chan" (endearing term-of-address to an older brother) of a surfer, and the other, bearded face represents an "injii" (o-jii-san, old man) who lived in a former penal colony. The motif of the statue is of people who were exiled to Niijima.

In 2009, the statue was involved in an event featuring Lupin III, a popular manga character. On December 1, a "crime notice" was issued that the statue would be "stolen" in seven days; during the early morning of the 7th, the statue was removed from its site, with the character's calling card in its place. The statue was moved back to Niijima, restored and cleaned, then moved back in place on January 21. The project was done with cooperation and assistance by the Niijima tourism association, the Shibuya police, and others.

In 2018, Hajime Umatsu mentioned on Twitter that there were blemishes on the statue, and was disheartened. Soon after, a local TV station broadcast a program about cleaning the statue.

Kamata Station
There is a statue located at Kamata Station in Ōta, Tokyo. It was placed in a plaza within the station's east passageway.

Two statues were initially donated to the site; however, only one ended up being placed there, with the other kept in a warehouse. In 1998, this unused statue was put up for raffle by the comedian George Tokoro, who featured it in his television program. Among 3,000 entries, the town of Fukaura, located in Aomori Prefecture, was selected to be the recipient. It was installed at WeSPa Tsubakiyama, a local tourist attraction. The statue became a popular landmark in the area, though its future remains uncertain following the enclosing attraction's closure in 2020.

Other


Moyai statues can be found throughout Japan. Within the Greater Tokyo Area, aside from the previously listed statues at Shibuya and Kamata, they may be found at New Pier Takeshiba and Odaiba. In Niijima, several of the statues are congregated on "Moyai Hill." Moyai may also be found outside of Tokyo: examples include a statue located in Kashiwabaraike Public Park, located in Ishioka, Ibaraki, as well as one inside a city-run rest stop located in Shimoda, Shizuoka.