Meet Hamura & Hamuo, A Sofubi-Born World From Tokyo Sculptor Kenji Yoshida!

Meet Hamura & Hamuo, A Sofubi-Born World From Tokyo Sculptor Kenji Yoshida. There is something extra rad about a character project that does not start as a sketch, comic, animation, or manga... but as a physical toy first! That is exactly what is happening with Hamura & Hamuo, an original sofubi character project from Kenji Yoshida, a professional sofubi sculptor and character designer based in Tokyo, Japan.

Kenji is no stranger to the world of Japanese soft vinyl. Working as a commercial sofubi sculptor for companies, licensors, and independent artists in Japan, he creates around 30 commercial masters per year, with professional sculpting work that includes projects based on Japanese titles such as Space Brothers. His production workflow covers the full sofubi pipeline, from ZBrush digital sculpting to resin 3D printing, physical masters, wax conversion, metal mold production, soft vinyl molding, and painting... yeah, the real deal!

Alongside that commercial work, Kenji has been building something of his own with Hamura & Hamuo, which he began actively developing in 2026. One of the main characters is his original kaiju, Kaiju Hamura, a super charming creature with that soft, expressive, toy-first personality that feels instantly collectible. The attached photos show both the digital sculpting side of the project and finished display pieces, giving collectors a look at how these characters move from sculpt to shelf.

What makes this project especially interesting is the reverse creative path. In Kenji’s commercial work, the process often moves from 2D character design to 3D sculpture to manufacturable Japanese sofubi. With Hamura & Hamuo, the journey starts with the physical sofubi characters first, then expands outward into character personalities, worldbuilding, story, and a larger original IP. It is toy creation as the foundation for a whole universe, and we love seeing that kind of collector-focused worldbuilding take shape.

Kenji is also developing Hamura & Hamuo beyond sofubi, including work on a picture-book project, which gives the characters even more room to grow. It is always exciting to see an independent creator take the skills of traditional toy production and use them to build something personal, original, and full of future potential. Collectors, sofubi fans, and anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes side of Japanese soft vinyl production should definitely keep an eye on Hamura & Hamuo and Kenji Yoshida’s work. You can learn more about the project at hamllado.online, and check out Kenji’s commercial sofubi sculpting and production process through the site as well.