Sento-kun
Ever since his unveiling in February, Sento-kun, the official mascot character for the Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijyoko Capital, has garnered widespread criticism from the media, religious groups and the blogosphere. A Buddhist child monk with a rack of deer antlers sprouting from his head, Sento-kun is supposed to evoke the image of Nara’s rich Buddhist history and the wild (but tame) deer that roam freely around town. But some citizens have expressed anger at officials for shutting them out of the selection process and wasting 5 million yen (about $50,000) of taxpayer money on an ugly mascot, and some Buddhist groups are upset with the sacrilegious decision to use the image of a monk.

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Original post by Edo