User:TNewfields/sandbox

= Sanomaru =

Sanomaru (さのまる) has been the official yuru-chara mascot of Sano City in Tochigi prefecture since 2011. He appears as a boyish, somewhat dog-shaped samurai adorned with several specialties of that city. His signature hat consists of a bowl of Sano ramen noodles, and his bangs are drooping ramen noodles. His "sword" consists of a fried potato stick, a culinary specialty of Sano.

Character profile
Sanomaru manifests in various forms. He often appears as an anthropomorphic dog, but sometimes as a short boy. Supposedly, he is mischievous and fond of local Sano cuisine. He often plays with a pack of trading cards known as "Sanomaru Ondo" and becomes peevish if his ramen bowl-shaped hat is removed. Moreover, if his fried potato "sword" is mistaken for a sweet potato dumpling he becomes irate. One mysterious thing about him is that he never takes off his Sano ramen bowl-shaped hat. His dream is to travel around Japan while making friends. It is no surprise that Sanomaru has been sighted in various places throughout Japan.

Events
In 2011 an open contest by Sano city was announced a mascot design. At a city festival that year it was announced that Sanomaru was the most popular entry. A parade celebrating his birth was held around Sano Station and later an inauguration ceremony was conducted at a hotel in the city.

At the 2011 Yuru-chara Grand Prix sponsored by Townpages, Sanomaru was ranked 20th, receiving 43,081 votes.

In 2012, events celebrating Sanomaru's first anniversary were held at three venues in Sano city. A support group for this character was established and the Sanomaru design became a registered trademark.

That same year an official Sanomaru blog was launched. At the 2012 Yuru-chara Grand Prix this time Sanomaru was ranked 4th with 163,258 votes [Reference needed].

In 2013 a picture book featuring Sanomaru was released. Two years later, a local Sanomaru-branded bus service began and a picture book featuring Sanomaru was released.

At the 2013 Yuru-chara Grand Prix this time Sanomaru won 1st place, obtaining 1,204,255 votes. A festival was held to celebrate this honor and a triumphal parade attended by thirty thousand people was held.

In 2016 the 5th anniversary of Sanomaru's birth birth was celebrated and the Sano City government designated February 25 as "Sanomaru Day." In 2018, a bronze statue of Sanomaru made according to a local casting technique was unveiled in front of Sano Station and in 2019, Sanomaru celebrated his tenth birthday.

Character Songs
A number of songs about Sanomaru have been composed so far. In 2012 the song "Sanomaru Ondo" was first performed and a limited edition of one thousand CDs with that song was released. In 2017 the Tochigi-born rap artist, DOTAMA has created a music video named "My City" in which Sanomaru appears prominently.

Category:Japanese mascots