Meet Fukura!
Fukura is Masahiro Sakurai’s cat. Fukura is always written in hiragana, so the exact meaning of her name is unknown. When asked what her name means or what the inspiration was from, Sakurai stated that, “it’s a secret”. He states that the full name would actually be Fukkura which could mean ‘plump’, or ‘fluffy’ in Japanese.
Sakurai lovingly calls her Fukurashi. Her birthday is April 6th, 2009. She is a Scottish-fold, and shares the same birthday as Kiki, Junichi Masuda’s cat (Kiki is two years younger than Fukura). Sakurai is a cat person, and often shares pictures of Fukura in his Famitsu columns and on
Fukura was originally thought to be the cat inside Pokemon Stadium 2, but Sakurai has confirmed that this is not the case. It’s currently unknown whose cat that is.
You can’t hide…even when you are going to the bathroom.
This is the most popular picture of Fukura– which was retweeted over 21,000 times. To put it in perspective, the Lucas reveal tweet was retweeted just over 10,000 times.
Fukura in a fukuro (a bag)!
Click here if you would like to see a list of all of Sakurai’s tweets about Fukura, which is maintained by a Japanese fan.
February 22 is Cat Day in Japan, and today’s Famitsu featured 22 pages of game creators talking about their cats. Here’s some new info about Sakurai’s cat, Fukura—straight from the source! (Translations by brando)
Name: Fukura (Fukurashi)
Breed: Scottish Fold
Age: 8
Sex: Female
—How did Fukura come into your life?
Sakurai: I’ve always been a cat lover. But, when living in a large Tokyo apartment building, there are a lot of hoops to jump through before you can have a cat. Somehow, after I got my things in order, I was able to welcome home the cat I’d always wanted. She makes me smile, that’s all there is to it.
—What does “Fukura” mean to you?
やわらかな支え
“Tender support”
On Fukura’s personality:
When I come home at night, she jumps out and rushes over to my feet, and brushes up against me. After petting her for a while, she’s satisfied and she goes off somewhere. She’s always waiting for me when I finish taking a bath, but that’s because she wants me to give her a little snack. Once she’s had her treat, she hurries off somewhere else. She has a small, high-pitched voice, she likes to show me her belly and be pampered, she doesn’t get sick or have accidents, and she could use a little more exercise. She’s got wide, owl-like eyes, and she always thinks only about herself. Basically, she’s the ideal cat.
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[…] I wrote about Sakurai’s cat, Fukura. Tomorrow, I will finish either the Brawl translation piece, or write about Michiko Sakurai. I […]
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[…] So it’s also possible that maybe it’s a nickname based on his potentially favorite cat name (his cat’s real name is Fukura). Or he named his cat after his favorite type of noodle. Or, most likely, Sakurai is being […]