Hirosaki City's unofficial local hero "Festival General Yayadon" participated in the "2019 Japan Local Hero Festival" held in Chiba on October 5 for the first time.

Yayadon is a character created by Shinichiro Kiyoto, a first-year student at the Graduate School of Education, Hirosaki University, as a graduation work. It was completed in January of this year, and participated in the Hirosaki Neputa Festival and Aomori 10 City Grand Festival, etc., and the name recognition is gradually increasing among the locals.

Born in Aomori/Hirosaki, Mr. Kiyoto was enrolled in Hirosaki University in 2015 and was enrolled in the Faculty of Education, Lifelong Education Course, Arts and Culture Major (currently closed). “I like special effects heroes such as Kamen Rider and chose the path to learn special art modeling,” says Kiyoto. "Before taking university exams and when going to high school, I used to use a transformation belt as an amulet, so I was longing for a hero."

When thinking of university graduation production, "Neputa," "Design," and "Sci-Fi Hero" came together, and they were linked to "Local Hero". Mr. Kiyoto says, "The name Yayadon comes from Hirosaki Neputa's shout "Yayadoh. It may not look cool, but it's a little out of the ordinary."

On the back of Yayadon, a send-off picture, which is also found on the Neputa float, is drawn. “For the send-off picture, we set up another character with the personality of “Donko.” He is a strong person and literally supports Yayadon from behind,” says Kiyoto. It is said that the belt is equipped with a goldfish Neputa type "Kinbo", and it is also available for transformation and strengthening.

It is said that he made many trials in production and made many prototypes before deciding the material. We will open our own website and Twitter, and actively disseminate information. Mr. Kiyoto said, “I've been able to call out when I participate in local summer festivals and so on, and I've been asked to perform at the event. I'm just grateful and happy.”

“By participating in the Japan Local Hero Festival, I once again felt the power of heroes,” says Kiyoto. "Hero has the power to make children smile. I was encouraged by seeing my senior heroes, and I was impressed by the modeling as well. I would like to use it for future Yayadon."

Regarding the future, there are many prospects and dreams such as making a drama with Yayadon as the main character and creating local heroes using "Neputa Nebuta" which differs depending on the region of the Tsugaru region, "the final goal is the hero that I made I hope you can get interested in Hirosaki and Tsugaru.”