Sturm Panzer - Dogu Dry
(This is a machine AI translation from Japanese. We will replace it once the English description done by our staff is ready.)
Lightweight, yet still solid as a rock.
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The first time I ever became aware of the "dogū" (clay figurine) was, I think, back in my kindergarten days.
In a certain animated film — the one where a blue raccoon-cat and an elementary schooler travel to the Japanese archipelago of 70,000 years ago — a "Shakōki-dogū" (goggle-eyed clay figurine) appeared as a villainous monster made of clay.
It was so eerie that it traumatized my young self to the point that I couldn't go to the bathroom alone at night.
Just what was that creepy clay monster?
Later, I learned it was modeled on the dogū — clay human figures made by the "Jōmon people," the ancestors of us Japanese.
When you hear "Jōmon people" or "the Jōmon period," what comes to mind?
If you're picturing something wild and primitive, like cavemen, you'd be a little off the mark.
Beneath the rich natural abundance of the Japanese archipelago, the Jōmon people built a remarkably advanced civilization and are said to have lived peaceful lives with almost no conflict for several thousand years or more.
It was against this backdrop that the creative artwork known as the dogū was born — though exactly why dogū were made remains a mystery, with many theories but no firm answer.
As I gazed and gazed at one of these mysterious dogū with my "yo-yo brain," its limbs and the area around its hips somehow started to look like a yo-yo shape. (Every yo-yo player knows the feeling.)
Aha!! Perhaps this was the voice of my ancestors' souls, telling me to make a yo-yo inspired by the dogū!?
To dispel the eerie image of the dogū I saw in that movie, and to guide everyone into the wonderful world of Jōmon, let us release "Dogū-san" with respect and affection for the dogū.
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A yo-yo conceived from, and given form by, the shape of a certain dogū. For more on how it came to be, see the maker's comment.
Despite its compact mid-size 52mm diameter, it secures a 44mm width. The unusual weight balance created by its multiple curves results in an intense "solid mass" feel. Even though there should be a weight difference between the rim and the center, that difference is thinned away to almost nothing — replaced instead by the sensation that everything has become one. That is the true essence of "Dogū-san."
This new model makes that Dogū-san lighter. The solid-mass feel remains, now joined by a light, easygoing handling that makes it a pleasure to move.
The name expresses the weight reduction that comes from drying out and losing moisture. The logo design even depicts the cracks caused by that drying — a thoughtful attention to theme you can really feel.
Maker's Comment
- To keep manufacturing costs down and maintain the retail price, a rust-prone non-brand curved-surface bearing is installed as standard.
- The rust-resistant stainless bearings sold separately are the CP-06 D9 ball bearing or the CP-18 double V-shaped bearing. Please replace at your own risk.
- The response pad is the CP-09 Blade Attack Pad (Economy).
- The axle is the CP-15 M3.5 button hex axle. It can be removed with a commercially available M3 hex wrench.
- Small scratches, dirt, color unevenness, machining marks, and the like may occur during manufacturing, assembly, and shipping, but these are part of the product's specifications.
