Have a Break

From winter to spring, I often see “Dekopon” in supermarkets. I sometimes buy Dekopon because it is sweet and tasty, with a distinctive appearance of the head sticking out like a hump. A product called “Shiranui” (Shiranuhi,), which looks like dekopon, can also be found.

Both “Dekopon” and “Shiranui” are the result of crossbreeding “Kiyomi” and “Ponkan,” but “Dekopon” is a registered trademark of the Kumamoto Prefectural Fruit Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (JA Kumamoto Kajitsuren) (Japanese Registration No. 2495156), while “Shiranui” is a common name.

Because the name has a great impact, when you see a citrus fruit with a hump on its head, you tend to say “Dekopon!”. However, “Dekopon” is a type of “Shiranui” citrus that must meet quality standards such as a sugar content of 13 degrees or higher and a citric acid content of 1.0% or lower, and only licensed agricultural organizations are allowed to use the “Dekopon” trademark.

March 1 has been registered as “Dekopon Day” by the Japan Anniversary Association, in honor of the first shipment of “Dekopon” from Kumamoto Prefecture on March 1, 1991. “Dekopon” is also produced in Aichi and Mie Prefectures. (Syszo)

JA Kumamoto Kajitsuren – Trademarks
JA Kumamoto Kajitsuren – Beware of unauthorized use of the registered trademark “Dekopon”
Wikipedia – Dekopon
J-PlatPat – Japanese Trademark Registration No. 2495156

I would like to introduce “Chiikawa,” a character that we have recently seen in various places. Chiikawa, short for “Something Small and Cute,” is a manga work by illustrator Nagano. Chiikawa’s Twitter account (probably another Nagano account), where the manga is posted, has 1,957,000 followers! (as of March 8, 2023) The number of followers shows how popular it is. The main character, a bear, is called “Chiikawa”.

*From the bulletin of Japanese Trademark Registration 6462301

There are 7 original goods stores “Chiikawa land” (permanent stores) in Japan. An animation of Chiikawa land is aired on “Mezamashi TV” every Friday around 7:40 a.m.. I searched J Plat-Pat for “Chiikawa,” which is so popular that it has collaborated with other characters such as Sanrio and Shonen Jump, as well as major companies such as Suntory and Family Mart, and found two “Chiikawa” hits. (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6462303 and Registration No. 6649263) Also, since the right holders of the two trademarks were the same, I searched by the name of the right holder of the trademark, and I found 9 hits. (4 of them were related to Chiikawa)

I have become a big fan of Chiikawa, and now I read the manga on Twitter, watch the anime in real time, and look around for collaboration goods. By the way, my favorite character is Chiikawa’s friend Rabbit. (Rabbit)

　“Blue Lock” is a very popular soccer animation in which one world-class striker is chosen by kicking out 299 out of 300 high school FWs. When we checked the trademark, we found that not only the title “Blue Lock” but also “that mark (*)” consisting of five pentagons was registered as a trademark in graphic form only (Japanese registration 6673890, with colors, registration date: 2023/2/21). Indeed, when I see it, I think “It’s a Blulo!”.
　*The “O” in the “LOCK” logo in the photo. The “O” in the “LOCK” logo in the photo is a single color of blue in the trademark.

　Looking at the application history of this trademark, we see that an amendment was filed in response to a notice of reasons for refusal, and the description of “gemstones” in Class 14 was deleted from the designated goods and services. Coincidentally, I couldn’t help but feel a connection to the fact that Jinpachi Ego, the representative of Blue Lock, calls the gathered high school strikers “gemstones of talent” in the work. (Marron)

Although it will have ended by the time this article is published, February is Valentine’s Day.
I very much look forward to the chocolate fairs held at various department stores every year. This year, in particular, I went to a department store right after the fair started because I had been curious about some chocolates since last year.
The chocolate I had been curious about was the “Suzuno Truffles” sold by the Japanese confectionery Suzukake only during the Valentine’s Day season.

As you can see in the photo above, the truffles come in three different flavors (matcha, hojicha, and brown rice) and are presented in a very cute box with colorful flowers on it.

By the way, when you buy sweets at Suzukake, they put your purchase in a paper bag with the following symbol on it.

The hieroglyphic character for “ka (meaning:confectionery)” is eye-catching, and many people may recognize this logo.
When I see someone carrying this paper bag, my feet naturally turn to the store and I think, “I’ll buy one too…” This logo has a great advertising effect (at least for me).

The “Ka” logo mark has been registered as a trademark for the designated product “confectionery” (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6059376, etc.).
(Sakuramochi)

　The other day, I received a Nagoya Doughnut. The package is very cute with the orca and castle logo. Furthermore, the doughnut is flavored with Ogura(sweet red bean paste) margarine, which is delicious, and I thought it would be a very nice souvenir as a Nagoya specialty. The Nagoya doughnuts are a product of Meihou Foods Inc. There are numerous products, and I am also interested in their dorayaki(a bean-jam pancake) and manju(steamed bun).

　When I checked the trademark registration, Nagoya Donut was not registered, but four of the numerous product names were registered.
　Nagoya Donut is a good name, but I wondered if it would be difficult to register it as a trademark. One of the registered trademarks of Meiho Foods Inc. is “Milky Magic”. This “Milky Magic” is a straw product that changes the taste of milk, and I would like to try drinking milk with this straw.(Raspberry)