ほ
や

Explanation

Thank you for telling me! When I looked it up, it turns out the name “hoya” (sea squirt) comes from its resemblance to the lampshade part of a lantern. Because of its bumpy, pineapple-like appearance, it’s also called the “pineapple of the sea.” Actually, baby hoya swim in a tadpole-like shape, but as they grow, they attach to rocks and stop moving. People think it’s a shellfish, but it’s actually a chordate like humans, and it’s the invertebrate closest to vertebrates. ✨ Just like the hoya that changes dramatically in life, you too should not fear metamorphosis to a new stage~like that~it seems. The origin is “hoya (火屋),” a Edo-period lampshade. As a fun fact, maboya is the true hoya of the Sanriku region and is actively cultivated, so it supports Japanese food culture too. Speaking in a spiritual way, the hoya is an existence with a nature different from its appearance, and it seems to send us a message to reconsider our true selves.

Thank you for next time too!

About Spirituali-chan

Spirituali-chan is a girl with a bit of a spiritual side. In this series, Spirituali-chan introduces kanji she encounters while reading spiritual books!

✍️ Supervised by | Editor-in-Chief KOS
Editor-in-Chief of a character goods specialty media. Has written and supervised over 12,000 articles to date. As the representative of Perfect World Co., Ltd., operates Perfect World Tokyo. Handles over 50,000 character goods at all times, personally reviewing and selecting over 1,000 new products every month. All products featured in the media are authentic items sourced directly by the company, and all photos are taken in-house. Articles are written after personally inspecting each product, delivering the latest news and product reviews in the character goods industry. Information is provided from three perspectives: as a retailer, photographer, and editor.

FAQ
What is perfectworldtokyo.com?+
We're a news site based in Tokyo, Japan, sharing the fun and charm of characters and their goods with the world. We're run by Perfect World Co., Ltd. — a team of passionate character goods collectors — led by editor-in-chief KOS. Every item in our online shop "perfectworld.shop" is hand-picked and photographed by us, right here in Japan.
Can I purchase products?+
Yes! Almost all items featured on our site are available to buy or pre-order at perfectworld.shop, our collectors' online store. The shop supports multiple languages, so feel free to shop with confidence. You'll find a link at the bottom of most articles to jump straight there.
Who writes the articles?+
Every article is written by one of our editors — all genuine character goods fans. Nearly all photos (99%+) are also taken by us, one by one, with love. All articles are supervised by editor-in-chief KOS, who has 10+ years of collecting experience, a personal collection of 40,000+ character goods, and selects over 1,000 new items every month.
Is your content written by AI?+
Nope! Every single piece of content is written by real people who love character goods. We don't use AI. Editor-in-chief KOS personally reviews everything before it goes live.
How reliable is the information?+
We write with a lot of personal flair, but we always deliver honest opinions straight from the heart of true fans. You'll notice we don't list prices in our articles — that's intentional, since prices vary by retailer and change over time.
Is it free to read?+
Totally free. Always.
What kind of character goods do you cover?+
Snoopy, Miffy, Sanrio, Disney, Opanchu Usagi, Puppet Sungsung… the list goes on forever! We cover 200+ trendy characters and anime characters driving Japan's KAWAII culture. And discovering brand-new characters before anyone else? That's one of our favorite parts of the job.
Interested in a content partnership?+
We'd love to talk! Join us as a partner in spreading Japan's KAWAII culture to the world. Drop us a line at info@perfectworld.tokyo — we're always open to new collaborations!
1 2