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Yomiuri Shimbun photo “Shofuku Eto Mikuji” small snake ornaments sold at the Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten store in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, are painted in either green or white.
By Sanae Nokura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
13:56 JST, January 3, 2025
2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac, and companies have released products and sweets featuring the fearsome reptile, which is a symbol of new beginnings due to its nature of shedding and regrowing its skin.
Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, a company that produces and sells daily necessities, has about 10 kinds of snake ornaments up for sale. At its Shibuya branch in Tokyo, “Shofuku Eto Mikuji” have been grabbing customers’ attention with their lovable round eyes and adorable facial expressions. The ceramic ornament is about 8 centimeters long and has pink and red Japanese plum flowers painted on its body.
“These ornaments are based on the image of a snake moving ahead with a smile,” the designer of the product said. The ornaments are perfect for decorating small spaces such as the corner of a kitchen counter or wall unit.
The Japanese tenugui hand towel store “Kamawanu” offers tenugui hand towels with 10 different patterns themed on the Year of the Snake.
Yomiuri Shimbun photo Tenugui towels with various patterns are available at the Kamawanu Daikanyama outlet in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
“I recommend hanging the tenugui towels on the wall,” said Hitomi Sato, the company’s PR.
The tenugui towels featuring a bamboo rake covered in various patterns, such as a snake, red sea bream and crane, have vivid colors that can brighten up the atmosphere of any room. The geometric patterns that the snakes form go well with any type of room, whether its Japanese- or Western-style, according to Sato.
Hiroshi Yamamura of the “Yamamura-ya Nuigurumi” store, which sells stuffed toys and paper patterns with original designs, demonstrates how to make a hand-sized stuffed snake toy on the store’s website.
Yomiuri Shimbun photo Hiroshi Yamamura shows his stuffed snake toy.
His main business is tailor-making clothes. The stuffed toy he shows on the website can be hand sewn with only a straight stitch, making it easy for even small children to make.
“The stuffed toy is made of felt, so it can offer relaxed atmosphere. You can customize it with bead eyes or patterns of colored felt of your choosing,” he said.
The website sells patterned paper for the stuffed toy.
Yokan bars, cookies
Left:Courtesy of Toraya Confectionery Co. / Right:Courtesy of Grand Hyatt Tokyo Left:The medium-sized “Haruhi no Mi” yokan bar Right:Chinese zodiac snake cookies of five different colors
There are sweets that aren’t just fun to taste; they’re fun to look at, too.
“Haruhi no Mi,” offered by Toraya Confectionery Co., is a yokan jelly sweet bean paste bar featuring the sign of the snake. The sweet, with its two layers of yellow and green yokan, depicts a snake moving forward under the soft spring sun.
Grand Hyatt Tokyo until the end of January is selling sweets and bread featuring snakes. Its snake cookie product is a set of three rectangular cookies with white and gold snakes drawn on them as a symbol of luck. The cookies come in five different sets with their own bright colors, including red, green and yellow. They would make perfect New Year’s gifts for friends and parents.
