Brought this up in another thread, but thought I would start one in a proper forum.

Anyone ever noticed the resemblance between Blobpus toys (esp. the original) and the Dogu figurines from the Jomon era in Japan?



and



(Credits to K-T for the Blob, and e-yakimono.net for the Dogu.)

I've always wondered about this, and the design similarities are part of the reason for my attraction to Blobpus stuff.

Wow! I never really noticed/figure it out, but I always had a feeling like I seen those eyes b4! Bloopus should make a rusted out cooper version!

Great post! It seems almost certain that you're correct. If not, that's some stylistic coincidence! Knowing how much meaning the figures have for Kaji, though, you're probably right on target.

This has been discussed elsewhere including as I recall in Super7 magazine, but he'd mentioned that the sutured eyes symbolize bad things done to one in one's youth, and the six tiny eyes above them symbolize making do with what you have to create a better future.

So many layers of history and meaning in so many kaiju. The more you realize as you connect the dots, the more rich and valuable the figures become.

Wow -- Definitely.

Although from Mexico, I can say without a doubt that Huitzil from Capcom's Darkstalkers / Vampire series is based on those dolls too. Take a look:

Totally off topic, but I'd loooove to see some "monster" toys based on Aztec and Maya cosmology. Well, there was the Azteca d.u.n.n.y series, but ... that ain't quite it. I don't want cute Quetzalcoatl, I want mighty scary awesome Quetzalcoatl!

Hear, hear! Who wouldn't love an Aztec god to battle some messed up Japanese monster.

Yeah, that would be cool if a company like Marmit picked those up, kind of like how they produced the cryptozooid toys. I dig toys of monsters with historical/legendary significance.

Nice Catch!

Seems like almost all Japanese Toys (robots too!) have their roots deep in Demon and Warrior myth and history.

I just wonder how much of it is conscious (i.e. Ironic) on the part of the toy designers.

And some Germs..


There has been a few nice Gashapon versions.
While I was in Japan I tried to chase a newer one, but couldn't.

Thought I'd share, another pic I took from the LA Museum of Art

do you know that Dogons came from Sirius?

there was a theory (Deniken?) that these old-times figures actually shows aliens in spacesuites and people who made these figures do have very specific religious cult about Sirius!

The "ancient astronaut" postulates of Eric von Daniken are not taken seriously by anyone of any repute in fields of studies related to civilizations of antiquity. Time and again, his woo-woo conjecture has been debunked by archaeologists, sociologists, and historians who know more about the mileu of the artifacts he riffs about than he does.

Pardon me but you appear to be confusing these figurines from the ancient Japanese Jōmon era with the Dogon tribe of Mali, Africa. While the Dogon do have their peculiarly fascinating cultural aspects, their masks and figurine carvings really bear no resemblance aesthetically to the figurines that akum6n identified as probable Blobpus influences, with the exception that both are "humanoid," clearly inspired by and representative of human beings.

It's true that the Dogon honor "the Dog star" and all that but again, persons like von Daniken and even the esteemed W.S. Burroughs have made a bit much of their beliefs that is pretty far out there, out of context.

http://www.jomonjapan.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogon

Ok. Thanks for the clarification, xoconostle. I was wondering if I was just missing something there.

I have never taken this clown Deniken and his "theories" seriously, so please calm down a little bit



Yes, you probably right
it was many-many years ago since I read about Dogons, so I might
make a mistake. These figures just look very familiar to me, I've seen them before for sure in a "space invaders" context

I'm completely calm. I think maybe you took my response too personally (?) However I've gotta say, you did forge a response, which I'm going to take as you "just kidding," but generally, I don't appreciate false attributions. I didn't insult you and didn't mean to at all. Sorry if it seemed like I did.

Anyway, we're cool, ok?