Domo-kun (どーもくん
is the mascot of Japan's NHK television station, appearing in several short stop-motion sketches. Domo-kun, a strange monster-like creature born from an egg, is short, fuzzy and brown with beady black eyes and an open mouth revealing pointy teeth. He lives in an underground cave with Usajii, a wise old rabbit, who loves to watch TV and drink astringent tea (in Japanese, "Usagi" = rabbit and "Oyaji" = older man). The name "Domo" was acquired during the second episode of his show in which a TV announcer said, "Domo Konnichiwa" (roughly translatable as "Hello indeed!"
. Domo's favorite food is seasoned beef with potatoes and he has a strong dislike for apples (an unexplained mystery in his DNA). Domo is known to pass gas repeatedly when nervous or in a bad mood.
Domo-kun is recognized by at least 90% of Japanese schoolchildren, who are familiar with his television antics; however, for many people outside Japan, their first experience with Domo-kun may have been a humorous mock "public service announcement" that states "Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten," or through various memes popular on humor sites such as Fark.com and b3ta. This is not at all in keeping with Domo's image within Japan itself.
Domo-kun merchandise is quite abundant in Japan, and it is heavily sought by collectors in the United States, as evidenced by its constant presence on eBay. Domo-kun is featured in the Game Boy Advance videogame Domo-Kun no Fushigi Terebi. There is also a fan-made Flash game called "Domo-Kun's Angry Smashfest" that can be viewed here.
It should be noted that "-kun" is not actually part of his name, it is in fact an honorific indicating strong friendship or possibly family ties, usually to a younger male person (son, brother, school student, team member and so on).
Other characters in the sketches include Ta-chan (a teenage female weasel), Shinobu & Morio (2 bats—mother and child)
