Just what is "Usakumya" anyways?

If you're new to Lolita fashion you may not be intimately aware of Baby the Stars Shine Bright's famous mascot, Usakumya.

Usakumya is, in essence, a white bear that wears a bonnet with floppy rabbit ears attached to it. In reality is is usually a plush animal that doubles as a bag (albeit one with very limited storage space). It is basically BABY's mascot. 

In addition to this white, red-eyed rabbit-bear chimera BtSSB later put out some other variations: Kuma-Kumya, a bear that wears a bonnet with bigger bear ears, and Neko kumya, which has cat ears on the bonnet and a cat tail as adornment. Usakumya and Kuma-Kumya have been featured in many prints, and have had bags, pillows, shoes, scarves, dresses, aprons, headbands, and this pen made to look like them (just to name a few of the more novelty creations).

My basic understanding of the name "Usakumya" is that "usa" is derived from usagi, the Japanese word for rabbit, and "kumya" is a slight alteration of kuma, which means bear. Jammed together it approximates Bunny-bear. So, by that same logic, Kuma Kumya is bear-bear, and Neko kumya is cat-bear. 

So... Where did this strange creature come from?

It first appeared in 2001 as this gloriously frumpy teddy bear with bunny ears. I love this almost forlorn creature. It looks like a cryptid. It somewhat resembles my favourite plush dog I had growing up. I dearly want to hug this darling and tell him everything is going to be okay.

It had several iterations from hereon, and you can see another blog's post on the "evolution" of Usakumya through the ages (however it was written in 2016, so it doesn't touch on recent Kumyas, such as the Neko Kumya or the panda Kuma-Kumya).

In BABY's 2012 brand mook there was a spread on Usakumya. They even included Usakumya's backstory, which had hithertobefore not been published (and possibly didn't even exist).

Full Mook Scan Here

Here is a translation of the backstory (from LolitaHime's tumblr).

“Deep in the forest of a faraway land, there lived a stylish little bear. On a sunny afternoon, the little bear happened upon a very long-eared bunny. In that moment, his heart was stolen by those lovely ears. The little bear wanted nothing more than a pair of long ears for himself. Thinking he too could have long ears, the little bear sat in front of the mirror and pulled on his round ears until they turned red. The little bear cried and cried every day because his ears remained the same.

Then, one day, the little bear saw a lovely girl wearing BABY’s clothing. She listened to his story from beginning to end, and decided to grant the little bear’s wish! As if by magic, the girl presented the little bear with an exquisite bunny-eared bonnet. The little bear placed the bonnet on his head, and looked at himself in the mirror. All of a sudden, the tears stopped. The little bear looked just like a little bunny with red eyes from endless crying and long ears atop his head. 

The girl exclaimed, ‘So cute! Where I am from, we call bears 'Kumya.’ From now on, you will be known as 'Usakumya-chan.” The little bear was so happy, he travelled to Candyland, where the girl resides. Everyone in Candyland wears BABY’s clothing, and everything there is cute and sweet. Usakumya-chan and the magical girl spent many fun-filled days in Candyland.“ 

Okay, but what is the point?

What is the point of Usakumya? Usakumya represents BABY and their brand. In his adorable backstory he represents, at least to me, a new lolita aching to be a part of a fashion that lets them be more themselves. There was a darling short documentary put out a while ago about an Irish lolita community where one of the lolitas shows off her Kuma-kumya and explains:

“ This is a bear-bag. I just fell in love with her. I thought she was great, so I named her Gertrude. It's a bear, but really when you look at it; it's in fact a bear wearing a bear-ear hood, which is kind-of something I can relate to. Because I'm a girl whose never felt very "girly", but when I cover myself with all the bits and pieces that I love to wear I feel "girly". So I can kind-of relate to this bear who is a bear, but wants to feel like more of a bear. I just saw it and I was like: "This is me". [laughter] “

Of course it is also just devastatingly cute. I myself have fallen prey to the wiles of the kumyas, and am now the manager of a kumya's instagram page where I show off the tiny kumya-sized roombox I constructed and share photographs of the plushie wearing dresses I handmade for her. I also occasionally actually use her in coordinates, where I will make her a matching set of bows and an outfit to complement my own. Shameless self-plug below.

Agatha in her Alice in Wonderland themed dress, sporting custom-made pink bows for her ears and collar.

Agatha wearing her cat and star print dress and custom-made black bows for her ears and collar.

Disclaimer: I do have to use photoshop to edit out the strings I suspend her from so she can stand. Kumyas cannot stand on their own, the best they can do is slump on their wee bottoms. 

Usakumya and all his kin are good, harmless fun, and much like the rest of lolita fashion they're just another facet of our expression of kawaii culture. I never did care much for dolls when I was a wee child, but I always loved my stuffed animals. I'd discard the barbie dolls and let my TY beanie babies live in their beach bungalow and relax in the pool. If the plushies would fit I'd dress them in doll clothing. I'd name them all and make my mother and father repeat every name back to me before I'd go to sleep. Agatha allows me to continue that play in my adult-years where I am able to dress her up and show her off to other like-minded people, and its a happy coincidence that she intersects perfectly with lolita fashion.