Digital Ehon Award Interview Series, Vol. 12

“Digital Ehon Born from Mom and Dad’s Ideas”

　By combining “cute (baby)” and “smelly (poop),” the app creates “smelly-cute!” (meaning: “Even if it smells, I love your scent”). “Honyakawa,” an app that introduces parents and children to a new way to enjoy “cute” by combining “cute” with “Honyarara,” won the Special Jury Prize in the Planning Category.We spoke with Takao Yamamoto, representative of Team Warara, the team behind the project.

“I didn’t even own an iPhone—I’d never even touched one,” says Yamamoto.He admits he didn’t even know what an app was. Let alone had he ever heard the term “Digital Ehon.” He learned about the Digital Ehon Award by chance when a friend told him about it. “I thought, ‘Oh, that sounds interesting,’” he says.
“I graduated with a degree in Japanese literature, so I love words. I especially love coining new words…”
　At the time he conceived the project, Mr. Yamamoto’s child was five months old. “I drew inspiration from my own experience as a doting parent,” he says with a gentle smile. “When changing a diaper, if the baby had pooped, I’d think, ‘Ugh, it smells,’ but my wife and I would laugh together and say, ‘It smells, but it’s cute—it’s “smelly-cute”!’”

　The app’s design perfectly recreates that moment.
The first page features an illustration of a baby and Dad. When you tap the baby, it smiles along with a laugh. On the next page, the baby strains.When you tap the illustration, the baby sways back and forth, strains and strains, and out comes a little poop. Then, a synthesizer sound goes “Pwa-wa-wa-wan!” On the final page, Dad hugs the baby tight and says, “Even if you smell bad, I love your scent. You’re ‘smelly-cute’!”When you tap the picture, a smell icon with three dotted lines appears from the baby, and a heart icon from Dad. Talk about doting parents.

There are plenty of other “Honyakawa” moments. When Dad drinks beer, the baby imitates him with a “Puhah,” making it “Mane-kawaii” (impersonation + cute).When the baby slips and falls, it’s “clumsy-cute” (clumsy + cute). When the baby hesitates over whether to put dressing or mayonnaise on a salad, it’s “mayo-cute” (hesitate + cute).
“I didn’t really know much about apps, but I had a vague idea that they must be some kind of new communication tool. So, I imagined an app for made-up words, where moms and kids would look at it and enjoy themselves with a chuckle. For example, during mealtime, a child might come up with a new made-up word on the spot, and they’d laugh together, saying, ‘That’s funny!’I created it hoping it could serve as a catalyst for that kind of communication.” He mentioned that while working on this project, he and his wife brainstormed many made-up words together and shared a lot of laughs.

Just adding a little something to the word “cute” and seeing it alongside an illustration is enough to make your heart feel a little warmer.Even though we simply say “cute,” there are many different kinds of cuteness. Even words that are generally considered negative can take on a slightly new meaning when paired with “cute,” allowing us to experience a more concrete form of “cute”—one that’s just a bit stronger than the usual “cute.” This becomes a seed in our hearts that embraces diverse values.
Children love making up new words. “I want children to discover various forms of ‘cute’ on their own and turn them into neologisms. I’d like them to submit these, and we’ll post the most interesting ones on our website along with illustrations. It’s also fun for everyone to create neologisms together and laugh about them.”

　This project was also created by a group of people who love words, picture books, and music.Their combined creativity led to the award. “We have ideas, and we can collaborate with all kinds of people.” The team’s motto is “Humodia” (humor + ideas), a phrase given to them by a friend.
It’s been a year since they won the award. Their daughter, now 1 year and 7 months old, is in the midst of the “terrible twos.”When she starts fussing on the train, it causes quite a commotion. His wife had been living a life where she would sometimes get off the train early out of consideration for others. So, the Yamamoto family got an iPhone, and they’ve been showing their child Digital Ehon. They say they breathe a sigh of relief every day when they see her stop crying and become engrossed in touching the screen.