Moyai statue

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For the Easter Island statues which moyai are based on, see Moai.
A moyai statue in Niijima.

In Japan, a moyai statue (Japanese: モヤイ像, Hepburn: moyaizō) is a type of stone statue originally created in the Japanese village of Niijima, located in the Izu Islands. The statues, which were created to promote awareness of Niijima, are themed and modeled after the moai of Easter Island. The statues may be found across Japan, where they often serve as local landmarks. A moyai statue in Shibuya, which serves as a popular rendezvous location in the area, was the inspiration and original design for the "moyai" emoji (🗿).

Background[edit]

Moyai statues are created in Niijima, a village which is administratively part of Tokyo but located far from the city proper, in the Izu Islands. They were conceived of in 1978 by Yuichi Daigo, a local artisan and tourism director who aimed to raise awareness of the village. During the 1970s and 1980s, Niijima created and gifted several of these statues to various locales in Japan. They are loosely inspired by moai, megalithic statues built by the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island.

The statues are made from kōgaseki [ja] (抗火石, lit. 'anti-fire stone'), a special type of pumice mined only in Niijima and on the Italian island of Lipari.[1][2] As it is lightweight due to being extremely porous, one can easily carve it using only a chisel. Many moyai statues, including the one located in Shibuya, are made from this stone.

The word moyai is a pun between the word "moai" and the stem form of two Japanese verbs: 舫い (moyai, to secure a boat), and 催合い, (moyai, to come together, to work as a group). The second of these verbs, 催合う (moyau), is currently a dialectal word chiefly used in Niijima, though historically it was a part of standard everyday Japanese.[3]

Notable moyai statues[edit]

Shibuya Station moyai[edit]

A moyai statue is a prominent landmark near Shibuya Station: it is visible from the station's west exit and is located shortly past it.[4] Like the Statue of Hachikō which stands closeby, the moyai statue serves as a popular meeting spot. On holidays it is crowded in the late afternoon, though due to a greater number of passersby in the adjacent intersection, Hachikō tends to be more busy and the moyai comparatively quiet.

The statue was designed by Oogo Tomoichi, a kokeshi maker and director of Niijima's tourism association. In 1980, it was donated from Niijima to Shibuya in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Niijima's incorporation into Tokyo. The unveiling ceremony was held on 25 September 1980 and hidden in the thick grass is a nameplate with "moyai" inscribed onto it along with the unveiling date.[5]

The Shibuya moyai bears a passing resemblance to Easter Island moai, though it has many novel features: for example, it lacks a torso and has a head of wavy hair. It possesses two faces, one which faces a bus stop and one which faces a set of rental lockers. According to Hajime Umatsu, the original sculptor's grandson, the two faces are a pun on the village of Niijima's name: the wavy-haired face represents the "nii-chan" (endearing term-of-address to an older brother) of a surfer, and the other, bearded face represents an "injii" (o-jii-san, old man) who lived in a former penal colony. The motif of the statue is of people who were exiled to Niijima.[1]

In 2009, the statue was involved in an event featuring Lupin III, a popular manga character. On December 1, a "crime notice" was issued that the moyai statue would be "stolen" in seven days; during the early morning of the 7th, the statue was removed from its site, with the character's calling card in its place.[6] The statue was moved back to Niijima, restored and cleaned, then moved back in place on January 21. The project was done with cooperation and assistance by the Niijima tourism association, the Shibuya police, and others.[7]

In 2018, Hajime Umatsu mentioned on Twitter that there were blemishes on the statue, and was disheartened. Soon after, a local TV station broadcast a program about cleaning the statue.[1]

Kamata Station moyai[edit]

There is a moyai statue located at Kamata Station in Ōta, Tokyo.[8] It was placed in a plaza within the station's east passageway.

Two statues were initially donated to the site; however, only one ended up being placed there, with the other kept in a warehouse. In 1998, this unused statue was put up for raffle by the comedian George Tokoro, who featured it in his television program [ja]. Among 3,000 entries, the town of Fukaura, located in Aomori Prefecture, was selected to be the recipient. It was installed at WeSPa Tsubakiyama [ja], a local tourist attraction. The statue became a popular landmark in the area, though its future remains uncertain following the enclosing attraction's closure in 2020.[9]

Other moyai[edit]

A line of moyai in Nakama, Fukuoka.

Moyai statues can be found throughout Japan. Within the Greater Tokyo Area, aside from the previously listed statues at Shibuya and Kamata, they may be found at New Pier Takeshiba [ja] and Odaiba.[10] In Niijima, several of the statues are congregated on "Moyai Hill." Moyai may also be found outside of Tokyo: examples include a statue located in Kashiwabaraike Public Park [ja], located in Ishioka, Ibaraki, as well as one inside a city-run rest stop [ja] located in Shimoda, Shizuoka.[citation needed]

Moyai emoji[edit]

This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.
Symbol Unicode JIS X 0213 Character Reference Name
🗿 U+1F5FF - 🗿
🗿		 Moyai

The emoji known as "moyai" is a pictogram that can be embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages.

This Emoji first appeared in 2003, released as a KDDI Emoji Type D Version, with the name "moyai Face".[11] In 2010, Cell Phone Emoji became an international standard through Unicode, the moyai statue was included, and named "Moyai" in English as the official name. The Official Unicode documents indicate the design reference is the Shibuya Station moyai Statue, with the official description being "Japanese stone statue like Moai on Easter Island", explicitly stated that it is the moyai Statue which resembles the Moai Statues, not a Moai Island Statue.[12]

However, in reality, the fonts that consumer device companies use on their respective devices use implement a visage of the Easter Island Moai statue, rather than the Shibuya moyai Statue in the specification. The KDDI Emoji Type-D moyai Statue is also itself a design of an Easter Island Moai Statue.[11] Japanese mobile carriers are also the same in this regard. Apple, from the beginning, used the Easter Island Moai statues. Microsoft, Google, and other similar companies of the time originally used the Shibuya Station moyai statue. as indicated in the standard, but later in the second half of 2010 changed to the depictions of the Easter Island moyai Statues.[13]

Bibliography[edit]

  • 高橋こうじ『日本の大和言葉を美しく話す』2014年 東邦出版 ISBN 978-4-8094-1267-7 62頁（名称について）

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c 中込勇気 (Nakagome(?), Yūki) (March 9, 2018). ""ウチのじーちゃんが作った渋谷モヤイ像が…"孫のツイートが奇跡を起こした！ その知られざる美談とは？" ["The Shibuya Moyai Statue That My Grandfather Made..." A Grandson's Tweet Caused a Miracle! What is this Unknown Heartwarming Tale?]. WPB NEWS (週プレNEWS) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ The Japan News/ANN (December 31, 2018). "The origins of Shibuya's Moyai statue". Archived from the original on February 4, 2024.
  3. ^ moyai/ "渋谷駅に「モヤイ像」があるのはなぜ? - 広報さんに聞いてみた" [Why is there a "moyai Statue" at Shibuya Station? - I asked Mr. Public Information] (in Japanese). September 30, 2015. Archived from moyai/ the original on November 4, 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help); Check |url= value (help)
  4. ^ "渋谷駅に「モヤイ像」があるのはなぜ? - 広報さんに聞いてみた" [Why is there a "Moyai Statue" at Shibuya Station? - I asked Mr. Public Information] (in Japanese). September 30, 2015. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "【東京探Q】渋谷の「モヤイ像」って何?新島村からの贈り物 東京移管100周年の記念『読売新聞』朝刊" [[Tokyo Search Q] What is Shibuya's "Moyai Statue" ? A Gift from Nījima Village. Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Gifting] (in Japanese). November 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "渋谷駅南口の「モヤイ像」、姿消す－ルパン三世が「犯行声明」？" [Shibuya Station's "Moyai Statue" Disappears - Lupin III claims responsibility?] (in Japanese). December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024.
  7. ^ "「行方不明」のモヤイ像、戻る－ルパン三世「犯行声明」から2週間" [The "Missing" moyai Statue Returns - 2 Weeks After Lupin III claims responsibility] (in Japanese). December 21, 2009. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "蒲田駅・モヤイ像" [Kamata Station - moyai Statue]. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. 平成11年2月に青森県西津軽郡深浦町の「ウェスパ椿山」（令和2年10月閉鎖）に移設されています。
  9. ^ "蒲田駅・モヤイ像" [Kamata Station - Moyai Statue]. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. 平成11年2月に青森県西津軽郡深浦町の「ウェスパ椿山」（令和2年10月閉鎖）に移設されています。 [In February 1999, [the statue] was relocated to "WeSPa Tsubakiyama" in Nishitsugaru District, Aomori (The facility closed in October 2020).]
  10. ^ "蒲田駅・モヤイ像" [Kamata Station - Moyai Statue]. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. 東京都内では蒲田駅のほか、渋谷駅前、竹芝桟橋の「ニューピア竹芝」、お台場海浜公園にもモヤイ像が設置されています。 [In Tokyo, besides Kamata Station, moyai statues are also installed in front of Shibuya Station at Takeshiba Pier's "New Pier Takeshiba", and at Odaiba Seaside Park.]
  11. ^ a b "EZweb絵文字一覧　【タイプＤ】" [EZweb Emoji List [Type D]] (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "🗿 Moyai Emoji". Emojipedia. Retrieved 2021-05-16.

External links[edit]

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