Marimokochan

Marimokochan Japanese Name: まりもこちゃん Literal Translation: Little Seaweed Balla Released: September 2002 Original Japanese: WWW They are only in the clear water. Everyone at one time thought what kind of animal is this? about these "marimo"!!a They become a cute character! You are invited to the carefree and rolling and swaying marimo world★ Secrets of Marimokochan!! Marimo is?? Marimokochan is a plant. The "mo" gathers and they can form. Since they are plants, they photosynthesize and become big with age. They only live in clear and clean water and are a protected species!! The marimo crumble and split apart and flow and roll around in the water current. The marimo which become too big break apart because they can't bear their own heaviness. So Marimokochan is born! きれいな水にしかいないよ。 みんなが一度はどんな生き物なんだろう？と思ったことがあるあの「まりも」がなんと！！ かわいいキャラクターになりました！ の〜んびりゆらゆらゆれるまりもワールドへご招待します★ まりもこちゃんのヒミツ！！ まりもとは？？まりもこちゃんは植物。たくさんの”も”が集まってできているよ。 植物だから光合成をして歳をとればとるほど大きくなるよ。 きれいな水にしかいない天然記念物なのだ！！ くずれてぶんれつしたまりもが水流にながされながらまるまると… 大きくなりすぎたまりもは自分の重さにたえられなくなってくずれてしまうの。 まりもこちゃんが生まれるよ！ Characters Komarimo    Marimokochan    Marimokohaha    Marimokochichi    Marimokojiisan Marimo Child    Little Marimo    Marimo Mother    Marimo Father    Marimo Grandfather 20 years-old       80 years-old       400 years-old       500 years-old       900 years-old Images

I've been meaning to do this translation for ages since I've been so curious about these little green balls! One time when I was traveling in Japan, I remember seeing so much omiyage (souvenirs) with these green balls and being so curious about it. Looks like it was probably when I was in Sapporo since apparently there is a big colony of these marimo in Lake Akan in Hokkaido. Turns out these marimo are a type of algae which clump together to form these huge green balls. I'm not sure how possible it is to find Marimokochan products anymore, but apparently, all the goods contain the secrets of the marimo! Japanese Culture At Lake Akan a great effort is spent on the conservation of these marimo lake balls. This includes an annual three day marimo festival in which the Ainu people, the indigenous people of Hokkaidō, play an important part. Because of their appealing appearance the lake balls also serve as a medium for environmental education. They bear a certain likeness to the Earth in being green and round and in their need to rotate in order to receive light on all sides. In Japan the marimo has been a protected species since as early as 1920, defined as a natural treasure. Small balls sold as souvenirs are hand rolled from free-floating filaments. The marimo was given a status of protected species in Iceland in 2006. It is said that taking good care of the plant will make one's wishes come true. Both Lake Mývatn and Lake Akan are protected, the former as a nature reserve, the latter as a national park. Awareness of the unique nature of the marimo has not gone unnoticed in the rest of Japanese culture. A widely marketed stuffed toy character known as Marimokkori takes the anthropomorphic form of the marimo algae as one part of its design. Wikipedia: Marimo Translation Notes Aegagropila linnaei, known as Marimo (毬藻, literally "ball seaweed") in Japanese and as Cladophora ball, Lake ball, or Moss Balls in English, is a species of filamentous green algae (Chlorophyta) found in a number of lakes in the northern hemisphere. A marimo is a rare growth form of the species where the algae grow into large green balls with a velvety appearance. Colonies of such balls are only known to form in Iceland, Scotland, Japan and Estonia. Wikipedia: Marimo