Shimeji
What is a Shimeji?
1. A type of mushroom
2. A desktop accessory
3. A character from Fantasista Doll
4. A free Japanese input keyboard (spelled 'Simeji')
Shimeji mushrooms, also known as beech mushrooms, are an edible fungus native to East Asia (although they are also cultivated in other parts of the world). While the term shimeji refers to a family of mushrooms, the two most common types are white and brown. They sprout out from a connected base with long, relatively thin stems, and end with a small, rounded cap. The white variety is simply all white, while the brown variety has a beige stem and a brown cap. They both have a spotted, crackly-looking top, which is more pronounced on brown ones. For more information, including information on preparation, please visit this website.
Shimeji-ee, or simply Shimeji, is a desktop mascot with a thin body and a large head (similar in appearance to a white shimeji mushroom), originally created by Yuki Yamada of Group Finity circa 2009 (the website for which unfortunately went offline sometime between 2016 and 2020). It wanders around your screen, performs cute actions (such as sitting or crawling), and can even take hold of and throw your open windows off screen (however, they can be retrieved by right-clicking the Shimeji icon in your taskbar). Shimeji were particularly popular in the early 2010s, as artists would redraw the files to be their favorite characters from various pieces of media, such as Hetalia and VOCALOID.
The original program is a bit outdated and may not run in its original state on modern computers, but a creator by the name of Kilkakon has taken care to update it for modern computers. Kilkakon has also released translations of the software into other languages, so if one does not know Japanese (or if their computer garbles Japanese text, rendering it unreadable), they can still navigate the program. Kilkakon's website is located here.
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Fantasista Doll is a series about a girl named Uzume Uno, who one day receives a device that allows her to summon Fantasista Dolls. Shimeji is one of these dolls.
Related illustrations
Simeji is a free Japanese input keyboard, self-described as the "most popular keyboard app in Japan."
