Tiger Mask Hero Helps Japanese Orphanages
Something very cool has been happening in Japan in the last few weeks. Someone, or several people, have been making donations of toys and school supplies to orphanages in the name of Naoto Date, the main character of “Tiger Mask,” an anime series that aired in the 1960′s:
In the popular animation, Naoto Date was an orphan who grew up in a welfare facility and donated money to the facility after becoming a professional wrestler.
“I suspect that someone around his 50s or so, had similar experience with Tiger Mask and sent the gifts for us. We don’t plan to search for him, out of respect for his feelings,” Matsuba said.
After the gifts were reported in December, child welfare facilities in Kanagawa, Nagano, Gifu, Okinawa Prefectures have received school bags or donations from “Naoto Date,” one after another.
The latest donation, a set of 7 pricey randoseru school packs, was made to an orphanage in Nagasaki. A note attached to the donation said it was from “Nagasaki’s Naoto Date (hibakusha).” The person who left the boxes was apparently an older woman:
The geographic spread of the donations seems to indicate that there are several people acting in the name of Naoto Date. All the press coverage given to the donations is probably helping inspire copycats.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the “Tiger Mask” anime, here’s it’s opening sequence:
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