Interest
Shimogamo Siblings Return to Board Real Train From The Eccentric Family
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
In a new case of life mimicking art, two young tanuki walked aboard an Eizan Electric Railway (Eiden) train in Kyoto on Thursday. Net commenters wondered if this was another case of The Eccentric Family's Shimogamo family members making an appearance in the real world. A real tanuki version of the anime's protagonist Yasaburō ended up stuck in a well at the actual Shimogamo Shrine last month.
The real Shimogamo tanuki siblings wandered onto an Eiden train at Demachiyanagi Station in Kyoto at about 11:00 p.m. on Thursday. Tanuki are shy nocturnal canines, so the pair may have been starting out their day. Demachiyanagi Station is the start of the Eiden train line, and it seems that the train was waiting for passengers to board before heading out on its appointed schedule.
A 49-year-old company employee returning home was able to photograph the animals. According to the man, one tanuki appeared at the train's door, and another appeared soon after. Then they boarded the train together, looked around restlessly, and exited the train car. The whole incident was over in about 20 seconds. The man who saw the animals commented, "I wonder if they realized they didn't have tickets and got off."
Tanuki are reportedly a problem for the train station. The creatures regularly walk on the tracks and cause train delays.
Eiden appears in The Eccentric Family anime, and Yajirō Shimogamo likes to transform into Eiden trains to surprise people in Kyoto. Perhaps Yasaburō and his brother learned of their anime celebrity status and decided to try to meet some fans where the story is set.
Eiden has done several collaborations with The Eccentric Family. In January, the railway transformed its "Komorebi" train into a gallery displaying character and production art from the show. The franchise was also named Kyoto Special Goodwill Ambassador at an event in January.
The first season of The Eccentric Family (Uchōten Kazoku) premiered in 2013, and The Eccentric Family 2 (Uchōten Kazoku 2) sequel anime premiered on April 9.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun via Hachima Kikō
Image via the official English The Eccentric Family 2 Twitter account
