Culture History textbook figurine turing into overnight hit

Sales of the statue have sold steadily over the past two years at a souvenir shop within the Kyuman Museum of Art, which has a section devoted to the works of the artist from Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture. But in February, sales of the figurine started flying off the shelves. It became an internet sensation following a succession of posts on social media. Orders came in so quickly that the figurines in stock were soon gone. "The painting shown in students' textbooks and elsewhere is familiar to many people," explained curator Miki Nishitani from the Kyuman Museum of Art. "The beloved man is difficult to hate for anyone. Consumers learned that the 2-D character recently became available as a 3-D figurine and took an interest in it." The statue depicted by Wada sells for a tax-inclusive 5,000 JPY ($33.80) with an acrylic stand. It was designed and released in 2022 under the supervision of the art museum in the city of Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture.

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