Vending machine-dispensed capsule toys are popular in Japan. Gashapon, also called gachapon, are so popular in fact that rows upon rows line department store walls and public transport terminals throughout Tokyo. Gachapon have a reputation for being of high-quality, and they aren’t exclusively for toys. This one dispenses hand-written love letters:

The vending machine found in the Capsule House in Osu, Nagoya, contains several hand-written letters […] that cost 200 yen ($1.80). While some of these letters can come off as sweet, others can be quite scary. – Bryan Ke on nextshark.com

The letters, translated:

“To Onii-chan, who I love so much, Onii-chan, I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’s time for us to start over with our relationship. I will always love you, as I should. But we can’t spend our adult lives together forever like this. Even my friend Manami told me we can’t hide this forever. You might say that doesn’t matter, but we can’t have a proper marriage, and people will think we’re strange. I’ve always loved you since we were little kids, and I still do. But…even if we “love” each other, the relationship we should have is one where we “like” each other. Yes, that’s how things should be. My feelings of love for you will never change. But let’s find people we can have a relationship of love with, not just like. I’m rooting for you! So…as of today…it’s…it’s over…right? I’ll always love you.”

“Hello. This is Onii-chan’s little sister Hotaru. We met the other day. There’s something I wanted to tell you, but I can’t when you’re always with my brother, so I wrote this letter instead. I’ll get straight to the point. Can you back off? You and my brother aren’t a couple, so don’t you think it’s annoying how you’re always trying to act all flirty and clinging to him? It’s a huge nuisance to me!! To be honest, my brother doesn’t care about you at all. He won’t fall in love with any girl other than me. Can you please put that in your head? And stop sending him text messages on Line every night. It’s so annoying! You’ll probably say I have a brother complex, but the bond between Onii-chan and me isn’t anything so shallow as that. And don’t tell my brother about this letter.”

“It’s me Kiki, the girl who sits next to you. Thank you for lending me your CD. We always have so much in common with our favorite music and things. I’ve been listening nonstop to the band you recommended to me the other day! I really like it (><) ♪ I heard they’re going to have a concert soon. I want to go, but just going by myself would be lonely. Do you want to come with me?? If you don’t want to that’s perfectly fine! But, if you do want to go together, maybe we could have a really fun time! Since we only ever talk at school, I always think of things I want to tell you when I get home lol. So maybe we could do other things together, not just the concert, but like go to karaoke or out to eat after school! I have a ton of other things I want to tell you. Tell me your answer tomorrow. Oh, and don’t forget your textbook tomorrow! I’m not gonna let you borrow mine anymore lol -Kiki”

“Hey, why didn’t you answer my phone call? I waited for you a re~ally long time. I like you so much… it’s lonely when you treat me like this…. When I can’t meet you, all I do is think about you!! And, if I’m being serious, I want to be with you always . I’ll be the only one with you, right? I am yours only ❤ And you are mine only ❤ I won’t give you away to anyone, okay? Not just on LINE messenger… I want you to always be near me. What can I do to make you mine only? Don’t ignore me. Look at me always. Look at me in the morning, noon, night, and when you’re sleeping too, okay? Hey, I love you. Do you love me? Do you? I’m thinking only of you today. -Kiki”

🎰 💌 👀 😓

What I would call an experimental word-art project, probably better falls under the category of ecchi エッチ, only because the incentivised context of the letters imply that they were written by hormonal high schoolers and obsessive siblings, incentivising buyer perversions!

. . . Then again, reading is its own reward, I suppose (can has gachapon?).

😅

Nikkan Spa magazine discovered who really wrote these gachapon letters when they interviewed CEO Hideaki Eto in February 2021, who explained that the letters were, “generally written by women in their 20s, 30s, or 40s.” For the “Letters from Kiki” capsule toys, “the handwriting is done by maids who work at a maid cafe the company manages.” And in a twist reveal worthy of their own penned plots, apparently Eto himself takes on duties as lead writer, he admitted.

“I’m the one who composes them. I get really fired up writing love letters in the middle of the night.” [Source: Nikkan Spa via Livedoor News via Jin]

The idea of receiving/reading faux love letters penned by an anonymous writer reminds me of the science-fiction romantic drama film, HER (2013) in which Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Theodore Twombly, writes dictates love letters on behalf of other people for a living.

Funnily enough, the main character’s last name is a reference to American artist Edwin Parker “Cy” Twombly Jr. whose paintings often incorporated elements of handwriting:

Writer and art critic John Berger said of Twombly;

“I know of no other visual Western artist who has created an oeuvre that visualizes with living colours the silent space that exists between and around words. Cy Twombly is the painterly master of verbal silence!” [Berger J; Overton T, ed. Portraits: John Berger on Artists. London, UK: Verso; 2015.]

Perhaps, the intention behind a letter, like a painting, is what elevates its desirability; born from needing to express one’s inner truth, an authentic work of art may manifest. Ephemeral, and tangible at the same time, like compound shared knowledge. Whereas, a generic letter intended to stimulate surprise and titillation can only aspire to be short-lived, shorthand entertainment. I love the idea of hand-written letter dispensers—-it’s quirky—-but you really do get what you pay for. All in all, servicing our propensity to want to read and engage with things that make us feel will never go out of style. Japan may be ahead of the game as far as accessibility is concerned.

༘⋆♡📝⸝⸝💌⊹。°˖➴