田思怡譯
For some of Japan's most adored celebrities, the journey to fame starts in a converted Internet cafe above a bowling alley in this sunny southwestern city.
This is where Hiromi Kano runs her unlikely star factory, an enterprise whose most successful creations are recognized by millions. Some have huge followings on Twitter and earn billions of yen in revenue. At least one has met the emperor.
對日本一些最受仰慕的名流來說，成名之路始於西南部這個陽光城市位於保齡球館樓上的一間改裝過的網咖。
加納博美（音譯）在這兒經營她令人想像不到的明星工廠，這個事業最成功的創作獲得數以百萬計的人賞識。其中一些在推特上有龐大的粉絲群，賺進數以十億日圓計的營收。至少一個曾見過日皇。
The idols churned out by Kano, 55, are mascots — the smiling, dancing animals, mutated foodstuffs and saucer-eyed humanoids that promote every conceivable thing in Japan, from out-of-the-way tourist spots to careers in the military.
Kano is a costume maker, though no one in her industry would describe the job so bluntly.
55歲的加納大量生產的是吉祥物──帶著微笑、手舞足蹈的動物、變種的食物、張著大圓眼的人形物，促銷日本所有想得到的事物，從偏遠的觀光景點到軍旅生涯。
加納是戲服製造商，不過這個產業的人都不會這麼直白描述這個工作。
"We have a motto, which is that there's no human inside," said Kano, a mother of two with a warm smile who oversees the workshop and its roughly 40 employees, almost all women.
Whimsical mascots have become almost as closely associated with Japan as Mount Fuji and sushi. Popular for decades, they have become a virtual obsession in recent years, and seemingly every town, business and arm of government now has one.
加納說：「我們有句箴言，就是裡面沒有人。」帶著親切微笑的加納是兩個孩子的母親，主管這間工作坊和幾乎全是女性的大約40名員工。
千奇百怪的吉祥物與日本的關聯，幾乎和富士山與壽司一樣密切。吉祥物已流行幾十年，近年更真正成了一種癮，現在似乎每個城鎮、商業、政府部門都有一個。
So ubiquitous are mascots that last year, Japan's Finance Ministry suggested that public agencies think twice before creating more, fearing that taxpayer money was being wasted. Osaka prefecture alone was found to be supporting 92 of them, including two dogs for separate tax departments and a caped, flying hot-water bottle representing pharmaceutical regulation. The governor ordered a cull.
吉祥物無所不在，以致去年日本財務省建議公家機關在創造吉祥物前要三思，以免浪費納稅人的錢。單是大阪府就有92個為公家機關代言的吉祥物，包括兩隻狗為不同的稅務機關代言，還有一個戴棒球帽、會飛的熱水瓶，代表藥物法規。大阪府知事下令汰除吉祥物。
Kano said business was still booming, though.
"Japanese people have this desire to take the sharp edges off things, to take hard things and make them soft," she said. "If you want to explain, say, industrial waste, adding a character softens the message and helps it get through to people."
加納說，儘管如此，她的生意仍很興旺。
她說：「日本人想要拿掉事物尖銳的稜角，把硬的東西變軟，你們若要解釋，比方說，工業廢棄物，添加一個吉祥物能把訊息變柔軟，更容易傳達給人們。」
There are dozens of mascot-outfit makers in Japan, but the Kano family's company, Kigurumi.biz, stands out in the crowd. Its suits, which cost $4,000 to $6,500, are the Cadillacs of the mascot world, with features like motorized fans to keep their occupants cool during Japan's humid summers. Most are based on existing images, but Kano employs artists who can create characters from scratch or who can refine customers' designs.
日本有幾十家吉祥物造型製造商，但加納家族的公司Kigurumi.biz特別突出。它的人偶裝要價4000到6500美元，是吉祥物世界的凱迪拉克，特色包括內裝電風扇，在日本溼熱的夏天，讓穿上吉祥物服裝的人保持涼快。大部分吉祥物根據現有的形象，但加納雇用的藝術家能憑空創造出角色，或把顧客的設計變得更精緻。
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