Tokushima: Prototype of Peeing Boy Statue Donated

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:02 JST, December 23, 2023

MIYOSHI, Tokushima — The Peeing Boy Statue, a tourist attraction standing on a 200-meter-high cliff in Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture, was made from a plaster prototype which has now been donated to the city government by its creator.

The 1-meter-tall statue, standing on a protruding rock that extends into the Iya Valley, is a popular photo spot.

According to the city government and other sources, local children are said to have tested their courage by standing on the cliff in old times. The concept inspired the then vice governor of Tokushima to ask sculptor Ryoko Kawasaki to create a statue, with the hope of turning this place into a new tourist attraction.

Kawasaki initially crafted the prototype from plaster, using his 4-year-old son as a model. The bronze statue, based on the prototype, was installed at the cliff site in 1968.

Kawasaki, now 88, kept the prototype plaster statue in his atelier. Knowing that, Miyoshi Mayor Miho Takai, a friend of the sculptor for two decades, asked him to donate it to the city.

The city government plans to showcase the prototype statue at its new government building, which is set to be completed in September next year.

“I hope it’ll help more people get interested in [the Peeing Boy] Statue in the Iya Valley,” Kawasaki said.