Keshi

Keshi (Japanese: 消し or ケシ) aka keshigomu (消しゴム, for Keshi Gum) is the Japanese word for eraser. Modern reference to "keshi" is related to a collectible manga/anime character mini figure made of coloured hard gum. However, keshi is not restrictive to its etymology but a generic term as several gum types are used, from matte to transparent. Also, some lines, such as the "Cosmos Souls Keshi Gum" (コスモスザウルス消しゴム, kosumosu saurusu keshi gomu) uses plastic parts. Keshi figures are not necessarily based on Japanese comic book nor TV series franchises, since there are keshi dedicated to video games (Super Mario, Zelda, etc.) and some western lines are based on local mythologies and popular culture. A similar product is often mistaken with keshi, the pencil cap toy (ペンシル キャップ, penshiru kyappu) which appeared around the same period.

History

Keshi is a toy genre with Japanese roots but is not limited to Japanese manufacture nor Japanese culture as the keshi were sold and became popular all around the world in the last twenty years, and some keshi lines were made in Europe or in China and exported.

Keshi (demon)

In Hindu mythology, Keshi (Sanskrit: केशी; Keśi, nominative singular masculine from the root Keśin, literally "long haired") is the horse-demon, killed by Krishna, an avatar of the god Vishnu. The demon was dispatched by Krishna's evil uncle Kamsa, who was destined to die at Krishna's hands.

The tale of the slaying of Keshi is told in the Hindu scriptures of Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana and Harivamsa. Krishna is often praised as Keshava - the slayer of Keshi - in scriptures. Theories suggested about Keshi's origins range from his being a demon of childhood diseases to the story's being inspired by the Greek Herculean labour of slaying the horses of Diomedes.

Legend

Keshi's legend is recounted in the tenth Book of the Bhagavata Purana (between 500 CE - 1000 CE). Kamsa, the evil king of Mathura and the maternal uncle of Krishna, is destined to be killed by Krishna. In an attempt to avoid his death, Kamsa sends a series of demons to Gokula, where Krishna is staying with his foster-parents. After Krishna kills the bull demon Arishta, the divine sage Narada confirms to Kamsa that Krishna is his sister Devaki's child and that the girl-child that Kamsa had killed, mistaking her for the child of Devaki, was in fact the daughter of Yashoda, Krishna's foster-mother. Infuriated at hearing this, Kamsa calls the demon Keshi and orders him to kill Krishna and his brother Balarama.