Rey-kun
Kashiwa Reysol are one of several teams that tried to "bend" the rule about keeping football teams separate from their corporate sponsors. The name Reysol, or "Sun King", is clearly an allusion to the Hitachi corporate name, and the mascot -- a guy named after the sun, standing at attention -- is a pretty bad pun for "Hitachi".
Unlike most clubs, however, Reysol has not done very much to promote and market Rey-kun. This may have some connection to the mild embarassment fans feel about having a mascot who is a living plug for Hitachi. Some fan clubs have even invented a revised "background story" to distance Rey from the Hitachi brand. Noting his similarity to Songoku, the monkey hero of an ancient Chinese novel, many refer to themselves as the "Yellow Monkeys", and insist that Rey is their "Monkey King" -- a much more interesting identity, in our opinion.
Kashiwa Reysol -- Team Uniforms (1995-present)
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