Hey all,

Here’s a pic that I’ve been sitting on for quite a while.

It’s technically the next entry into my collection of fashion pics featuring Junior sporting a uniquely themed outfit.

As you all can probably tell from the title, the theme of Junior’s outfit this time is Japanese culture!

Everything he is wearing here has Japanese inspiration in some way or another.

His hair is done up in a Japanese style topknot, tied with a ribbon in style of Momotaro, a youthful folk hero from Japanese lore.

On his feet are traditional Japanese wooden sandals and around his waist is a mawashi, a loincloth worn by sumo wrestlers. He has a safety pin secured on the waist of the mawashi to show that even in Japan, he still is a big baby clown after all.

The long coat he is wearing with the sleeves torn of is meant to allude to styles adopted by Japanese delinquents. Also, like a delinquent he is seen here brandishing a weapon. This weapon is called a spiked kanabō club and was known wielded by Japanese demons called Oni.

This kanabō also alludes to Junior’s nature as a big baby clown by being shaped as a giant baby rattle, showing that he can still be adorable while kicking ass.

Another allusion to Japanese Oni can be seen with the mask Junior is wearing to the side of his face. His mask is shaped like that of an Oni, and when placed over his own face, can show just how terrifying Junior can be in a fight.

As for the markings upon his body, upon his chest is the red sun that marks the flag of Japan, and wrapped around each of his arms are golden eastern dragon tattoos, each metaphorically holding up the red sun over his heart.

Lastly is the makeup upon his face. In addition to his usual clown look, he has markings applied that are a reference to traditional Kabuki theater makeup. In Kabuki theater, red markings usually indicate that the performer is playing a heroic character, while blue markings indicate that the character is performer is playing a villain.

The fact that Junior has both red and blue Kabuki makeup on his face is meant to show that he is of two minds, in more ways than one, but either way he is a force to reckoned with.

Now that all that talk about symbolism is out of the way you may be asking yourself what the heck would Junior be doing in Japan in the first place?

Well, Pop-Pop and Mamie are always thinking of ways on how to help Junior become a better clown. After they just so happen to win a trip to Japan, they quickly see it as a prime educational opportunity for Junior and a long needed vacation for themselves.

Thus once they arrive, they leave Junior with one of Pop-Pop’s many friends from around the globe, the Kabuki Martial artist Kyoshiro Senryo, and then take off to enjoy a relaxing afternoon at a Japanese hot spring.

Kyoshiro takes Kabuki very seriously and puts Junior through some intense training. Junior’s patience wears thin and decides to show Kyoshiro that he’s no pushover. He dons the outfit seen above and engages Kyoshiro in a duel, with Kyoshiro wielding his bladed naginata staff against Junior’s newly acquired kanabō club.

Junior is able to perform some incredible acrobatics he learned from his clown training during the fight, impressing Kyoshiro in the process.

Despite Junior’s incredible reflexes, Kyoshiro gains a slight edge in the fight, pinning Junior to the ground and unofficially winning their little, impromptu sparring match.

However, Kyoshiro’s victory is short-lived when Mamie and Pop-Pop return from the hot spring just then. Mamie is furious at the boys for ‘rough-housing’ and decides to put them both in time out.

‘Time out’ consists of both young men being placed in a hastily assembled playpen, with Kyoshiro now also being dressed in babyish clothes like Junior, his outfit consisting of only a diaper, a bib, a bonnet, a pair of mittens, and matching pair of booties.

Kyoshiro pouts about the indignity of the whole situation, only for Junior to playful tease him by telling him to not be such a big baby before pulling on the back of Kyoshiro’s diaper and squeezing his baby bottle of formula into it.

Junior then coyly calls for Mamie, telling her that Kyoshiro is in need in need of a change. While at first he is flummoxed by how Junior turn such an odd situation to his favor. Kyoshiro begrudgingly admits there might be a few tricks he can learn from his new American acquaintance.
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Art by  babysp00ks


Story and Junior by  SkunkTales1