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The Japanese man who went viral for his £19,000 wolf costume has unmasked himself, saying that it makes him feel ‘no longer human’ as he relaxes in the suit at home.
Toru Ueda, a highway engineer from Tokyo, spent a staggering three million Yen (nearly £19,000) on the custom-made costume to transform into the grey-furred predator.
Ueda, 32, previously hid his identity but has now spoken out about how enjoys life in the costume.
The engineer stressed that he doesn’t wear the suit for fancy dress parties, cosplay, or to casually walk around the streets of Tokyo. Instead, he slips on the tailor-made wolf suit to relax and forget all his troubles.
Toru Ueda previously hid his identity but has now spoken out about how he can relax in his new wolf suit
Toru Ueda spent a staggering 3 million Japanese yen to fulfill his childhood dream of being a wolf
The wolf fanatic described how he invites friends over to his house and will dress up in his wolf costume.
‘When I wear my costume I feel I’m no longer human,’ Ueda told the Times.
‘I’m free of human relationships. All kinds of troubles, related to work and other things – I can forget about them.’
Ueda commissioned the costume from Zeppet, a specialist production and modelling company that usually provides costumes and figures for TV commercials and films.
It took Zeppet more than 50 days to complete the costume, and Ueda said he was ‘amazed’ at the final product.
The wolf fanatic described how he invites friends over to his house and will dress up in his wolf costume
It took Zeppet more than 50 days to complete the costume, and Ueda said he was ‘amazed’ at the final product
The 32-year-old said that it was a powerful experience to put on the suit.
‘When I look in the mirror, I see a wolf, and that is very moving,’ said Ueda. ‘I’m not a werewolf – that’s a kind of monster, and I am not a monster.’
Ueda remained anonymous before revealing himself to the world. Hiding his identity, the engineer previously told Zeppet’s website: ‘Because of my love for animals since childhood and some realistic animal suits appearing on TV, I dreamed of being one someday.
‘At the final fitting, I was amazed at my transformed self in the mirror. It was a moment when my dream came true.’
Ueda added: ‘My order to ‘look like a real wolf walking on hind legs’ was difficult – to say the least – but the complete suit looked exactly like what I imagined.’
‘Not only did the specs perfectly cover all of my preferences, but the ventilation slit for the wearer’s comfort and the devices that let the wearer put it on without help showed me that the designers paid close attention to the wearer’s comfort.’
Ueda wanted his wolf costume to be as realistic as possible, and the Zeppet team met with him three times in face-to-face meetings as well as over 40 emails exchanged between them. The animal fanatic wanted the wolf costume to be as life-like as possible, so compiled a book filled with photographs of the creatures.
Zeppet, the Tokyo company who made the suit, said it has seen and increase in customers commissioning the life-like suits from them. The company said they had more than 50 people request similar suits to Ueda that are intended for personal use.
Toru Ueda said that it was a powerful experience to put on the wolf suit
The personal service appears to have become so profitable for the company that they’ve started making ‘pet clones’. For a few thousand pounds, customers can request reproductions of their deceased pets.
One of the four-legged commissions was from a man who identified himself as Toko.
Last year, Toko spent two million Yen (£12,500) to transform into a dog.
The specialist modelling company spent 40 days making the bespoke Collie costume.
Following the outfit’s completion, Toko posted the photos of himself online with an accompanying video on YouTube.
He wrote: ‘I made it a Collie because it looks real when I put it on.
‘I thought that a big animal close to my size would be good – considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog.’
Zeppet spent 40 days making the bespoke Collie costume.