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**Murasaki Shikibu V-tuber**
On the 14th, the city of Echizen unveiled five characters from the Heian period, including Murasaki Shikibu, who is related to the city. Shikibu will be three-dimensionalized and used as a virtual character on the Internet “Virtual YouTuber (VTuber)”.
In 2024, the NHK Taiga drama “Hikaru Kimi e,” which depicts Shikibu’s life, will be broadcast, and a new Hokuriku Shinkansen station, “Echizen Takefu Station,” will open in the city. The city plans to have private business operators use the characters as souvenirs and promote them as a place related to the city.
The characters created were Murasaki Shikibu, Sei Shonagon, Fujiwara Michinaga, Akiko (Michinaga’s daughter), and Abe no Seimei. The city, prefecture, and prefectural tourism federation screened and selected 268 works from about 200 design students.
A 19-year-old female student from Nagoya Design & Technology College (Toki City, Gifu Prefecture) who designed Shikibu said, “I expressed Shikibu’s kindness and inner strength. I am honored that my work was selected.” talked. Mayor Kenichi Yamada said, “It seems that Shikibu has returned for the first time in 1,000 years. I want to make good use of it.”
The characters can also be used commercially by applying for a license from the prefectural tourism federation.
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/fukui/news/20230214-OYTNT50093/
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/fukui/news/20230214-OYTNT50093/