Irutan was the mascot of the 1975 Ocean Expo held in Okinawa. I am not sure if there was a television show featuring this character, but a whole family was developed for him. Several companies, most notably Bullmark, made toys of Irutan and his family.

This shot shows various sized Irutans. The tallest one is 18cm tall. The 2 larger ones have removable hats. All are by Bullmark except the smallest one which is a pendant by Patora.



This shot shows the 5 family members, they are all marked Bullmark in katakana and Japan on one foot and the name of the character on the other. They were originally sold carded on a blister pack. From left to right: PaPa, MaMa, Ane, Ani, and Irutan. PaPa is 13cm tall and Irutan has a removable hat.



This shot shows another version of the family that is very similar to the Bullmark, set. I think they were also made by Bullmark but they only have the NTV copyright on the foot and nothing else. They are different sculpts and slightly shorter. PaPa stands 11cm tall. I am missing the Ane character. If anyone has a lead on one, please let me know.



Here's a shot of a carded set that I stole from YJA a while ago. Notice the Bullmark company symbol on the card, but the set is the one with the unmarked figures. Any ideas why this is?



The Irutan story has a strange and sad ending. Check this link http://toyboxdx.com/phorum/read.php?4,169261,169429 Also check out the fantastic talker. Again, if anyone knows of one of these for sale, please let me know. This link also shows the diecast version made by Grip.

Sorry for the crappy pix, but I hope you enjoy them.

Wow thanks for sharing! Just when I thought I'd seen every offbeat character...this guy rules!

those are the 'berries. I love them.

Those are some of the coolest vinyls I've ever seen!

A bunch of "Flippers'

Hah hah.

Those are really cool!

Great collection you have there!

Sweet!! I've been looking for the diecast for about 2 years and have not seen one come up.. That thing is RRRRRR.

Ok Erik, now that you're here, you've got to post some pics of your vintage vinyls...

mark , you dont know how hard i kick myself in the ass for not buying that irutan talker that was on e bay years ago . masudaya made other "cute " talkers like hiatchi which is a bee and mooman in both male and female hippo figures and my fav ganba which is a mouse . billy galaxy is also a huge irutan fan and also is looking for the talker .
welcome to the board erik

Irutan is the best! Somebody find me that talker...

I always wished there'd been more Kure Kure Takora stuff made. Aside from the Bullmarks, just the newer Kaiyodo stuff.

whats the story on those three vinyl sharks ? i know what you mean hillsy . wish they made kure kure in standard size .

The sharks are just generic crap vinyls sold in Japan in the 70's. I am still missing at least one color. I wish Kure Kure Takora was my dad....

welcome to the board billy . was wondering about the sharks because popy did a boxed " swimming " version of jaws a long time ago and i was wondering if these were mini " jaws ".

Great to see the Takora love happening. Thanks for posting that pic, Billy - I had no idea they made vinyls of all the characters (though I might have guessed). Now I have something (else) to dream of owning . . .

Thanks for sharing! Does anyone know why is he a cowboy?

Cuz he is badass

I think billy still has the cared family set for sale if somebody wants to plunk down.
Thanks for all the pics peeps.

how kawaii. Hopefully these weren't slaughtered by the Japanese too.