Nothing to see here, just a giant dog poop walking a dog.
You’re almost certainly familiar with the famous story of the Akita dog named Hachiko, who was so loyal to his master that he continued going to Shibuya Station to wait for him to return from work for almost 10 years after the master’s sudden death while at work. However, you’re probably unaware that when Hachiko died almost 100 years ago, he left something behind. That something is a giant pink dog faced poop named Soft Kuriinu.
Soft Kuriinu (sofuto kuriinu, ソフトクリ犬) is one of those bizarre unofficial mascot characters that in recent years have popping up all over Japan. He represents Tokyo’s Shibya Ward and mainly frequents the ares of Shibuya and Harajuku. And yes, he is a giant pink poop with a dog face. However, he’s not just anybody’s poop. According to his profile, he is the one and only Hachiko the dog’s poop. Oh, and he is very loyally awaiting the return of his creator Hachiko.
こんばんワン！
ゴールデンウィーク楽しんでるワン？お仕事頑張ったひとはリツイート
デートした人はいいねお家から出なかった人に健康うん2アップあげるワーン！ pic.twitter.com/aXIB1eFkWU— そふとくり犬(いぬ ) / 忠犬うん公 (@un_kou_) May 5, 2017
Soft Kruiinu’s name is derived from a combination of the Japanese word for “soft serve ice cream” (sofuto kurimu, soft cream) and the Japanese word for “dog” (inu). Given that he looks like a pink ice cream with a dog face, this seems like an appropriate name. However, Soft Kruiinu also has a nickname and that nickname is a direct reference to Hachiko.
— そふとくり犬(いぬ ) / 忠犬うん公 (@un_kou_) April 8, 2017
Soft Kuriinu’s nickname is Chūken Unkō (忠犬うん公), which in English translates to “loyal dog poop.” This is a direct reference to Hachiko since, he is often called Chūken Hachikō (忠犬ハチ公), which in English means “loyal dog Hachiko.” Also, if you look at how the word unko (poop) is written in Japanese you’ll see that the kanji character 公 (ko) is used. This character is not normally used when writing the Japanese word for poop (うんこ), however, it is used in Hachoko’s name.
So what does Soft Kuriinu do? He spreads unki, which is a word that sounds like the Jpanese word for poop (unko) but means “good fortune.” You can get some of that good luck by touching the poop, so next time you’re in the Shibuya area keep an eye out for this giant poop.
However, Soft Kuriinu’s main purpose seems to be to keep the streets of Shibuya clean, which you have to admit is pretty amusing given what he is.
Aside from his sanitation efforts, a recent video has also revealed that Soft Kuriinu enjoys walking dogs. So what does it look like when a giant pink dog turd with a dog face walks a real dog down the streets of Tokyo? See for yourself in the video below.
Source: Neba Neba TV, Soft Kuriinu Profile, Soft Kruiinu Twitter
Top image: 【衝撃】うんこが住宅街に！?【そふとくり犬 ／ 忠犬うん公】
