I had to go check to make sure that the best-dressed nude statue in Tokyo made it through the typhoon safely. And he did! Not only that, he already knows what he’s going to be for Halloween.
But…huh?
As you can see, “witch” costumes in Japan are subject to the same considerable creative interpretation that has spawned so many creative acts of Santa blasphemy.
I checked back for a historical overview, and was sort of surprised. Here are his October togs since they started dressing him in the year 2000:
As you can see, October in Japan isn’t always about zombie nurses, sexy skunks and costumes that turn you into everyone’s favorite Asian despot. In fact, weirdly enough, October isn’t even the month in which he wears his most outlandish costumes. Sometimes the volunteers responsible for clothing the little nudist who lives at the very end of Hamamatsucho Station’s Shibuya-bound platform like to celebrate a good, old-fashioned, bountiful harvest and autumn shrine festivals too.
But the biggest takeaway is that none of us has to stress about what to wear on Halloween for one second longer: magenta cape, matching hat, jack-o-lantern wand, squirt bottle, DONE.
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—James Ziskin, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Award-winning author of the Ellie Stone mysteries
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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