The Picture Book "The Story of Donguri Korokoro"

Hello everyone!
This is Takeda from the Comomg staff.

Today we'd like to introduce a new product ✨

A picture book based on Comomg's popular "Donguri Korokoro" has arrived!

"The Story of Donguri Korokoro"

The content is perfect for children at the age of playing with acorns ♪

You can check out the contents of the picture book here.

Lots of acorn friends appear throughout the book, so if your child already knows their acorns, you can enjoy it together while chatting, like
"Oh, I know this little acorn!"
🥰

In the second half of the book, the story of how Donguri Korokoro came to be is also told.

What an acorn really is, how it came to have its current design,
the thoughts and feelings put into Donguri Korokoro, and more.

For everyone who enjoys playing with our acorn toys,
this is something we'd love for you to read at least once ♪

The reason we turned Donguri Korokoro into a picture book this time

"We want to properly convey the mindset and roots behind this character's birth to the children who hold it in their hands"

is the feeling behind it.

Donguri Korokoro was developed in 2004 by Comomg's president, Komatsu.
It's now approaching its 20th anniversary.

In Japan's toy industry, where long-selling products are rare,
we're grateful to say it seems to be entering the ranks of the long-lived.

Within the wooden toy industry, whose roots are often traced back to Europe,
we feel that Donguri Korokoro has gradually become recognized
as one of the few original products made in Japan.

To everyone who has loved and used our Donguri series, thank you so much!!

…That said, unfortunately, we've recently seen an increase in imitation and copycat products 😢

Creations like wooden toys, which sit right between an industrial product and a work of art,
are very difficult to protect through intellectual property such as patents or design rights,
and unlike two-dimensional creative works, copyright doesn't reliably offer protection either 💦

We sometimes receive inquiries about this from customers as well,
and it leaves us with a mix of disappointment and frustration… it's a very complicated feeling.

But no matter how closely such imitations copy the object itself,
they can never replicate the mindset and roots behind how it came to be.
However similar an imitation may look, it holds none of the time and heartfelt intention that the original maker put into it.

There's so much to learn from encountering the story behind a product's creation and the maker's feelings.

For example, becoming aware of the maker behind something, or thinking about the value of an object.
We hope children encounter many such opportunities to learn.

And beyond that.

"We want to properly convey the mindset and roots behind this character's birth to the children who hold it in their hands" —
this feeling,

in a future where children are the ones leading the world,
we hope everything will be built on better values than today.

Speaking specifically of the creative world,
we hope it becomes an industry where creations made without pride or soul
never rob future creators of their chance to shine.

Wanting to increase, even by just one person, the number of people who value that kind of mindset, we created this picture book.

A society where one's own feelings, passion, effort, ability, and sincerity are rightly recognized by everyone,
and where people can thrive according to the challenges they take on.

For the day our children grow up into young people with real aspirations,
we, the adults, hope we can help build that kind of future.

We've gone on at length about our thoughts here…
but for the sake of the children who will carry the future, we're starting with small steps.
Comomg will keep doing what we can, little by little!!

You can order the picture book here, so please be sure to check it out ♪

We regularly share behind-the-scenes toy-making moments, cute photos, and the latest updates!
Please check us out and follow along ♪

For our toy-making process and everyday moments ♪
Twitter→https://twitter.com/comomgstoy

For photos of Comomg's adorable toys ♬
Instagram→https://www.instagram.com/comomg/