Airmoto (エア本さん, Eamoto-san), also known as Hissu Amoto-san (必須アモト酸),¹⁾ is an MAD subculture that makes fun of the religious cult, Sōka Gakkai International (SGI). It began on Niconico in 2007, but most videos get taken down by “Shinano Kikaku” (シナノ企画).²⁾

In the 1990s, the SGI-affiliated company “Shinano Kikaku” produced a series of VHS tapes titled Subarashi Waga Jinsei (すばらしきわが人生, lit. “My Wonderful Life”). Then on November 30, 2007, a Niconico user uploaded an MAD video that set Masashi Hisamoto's interview to the tune of “Gourmet Race” (グルメレース) from Kirby Super Star,³⁾ contributing to the popularity of Niconico and MAD videos.

This intrigued many people who were daring enough to use SGI-affiliated material in their MAD videos back when the scene was still relatively underground. By January 2010, Niconico set up an official “Rei no Are” category because so many Airmoto videos were being miscategorized as “Fashion”,⁴⁾ but the community tried to resist as long as they could despite its name being an Airmoto reference.

Eventually, SGI started to fight back in 2012 and began to request personal information (e.g. emails, IPs) of people who uploaded Airmoto videos, accusing them of copyright infringement and taking videos down in waves. As a result, the “Aircaust” (エアコースト, Eakōsuto)⁵⁾ would force people to use anonymization tools or substitute Airmoto material with “Shinano Free” (シナノフリー) material instead.

• Airmoto-san (エア本さん) / Masami Hisamoto (久本雅美, Hisamoto Masami)
  The most important character. An actress and comedian who appears in My Wonderful Life: Part 2, often misquoted saying “atama ga pān” (頭がパーン)⁶⁾ and talking about flying. She originally became an SGI follower on September 28, 1984 at the age of 26.
  • Akaji Sensei (赤字先生, lit. “Red Writing Sensei”)
    A long sentence, written in big red letters, that occasionally appears in Airmoto MADs on Niconico. It's usually some SGI follower being really upset and cursing people who make Airmoto MADs.
  • Pān Error (パーンエラー)
    An error noise from a Windows 98/2000/Me computer that made its way into Hisamoto's interview.
• Danji-bu no Ishikawa (男子部の石川) / Kazuma Horie (堀江一眞, Horie Kazuma)
  The actor playing a solicitor from the “young men's division” (男子部, danji-bu) in Future 2, most known for “HON DA WA!”⁷⁾ which was used in “ＨＯＮ ＺＯＮＥ”⁸⁾ and began the “RED ZONE” trend.
  • Tōru Kurachi (倉地透, Kurachi Tōru) / Krachitōl (クラチトール)⁹⁾
    The man who initially declines Ishikawa's offer, but eventually decides to join after repeat attempts.
  • Ishikawa no Ushiro (石川の後ろ, lit. “Behind Ishikawa”) / “Backman“
    Somebody who stands behind Ishikawa during the solicitation skit, yet doesn't say anything.
• Inusaku Ikeda (池田犬作) / Daisa⑨ (だいさ⑨)¹⁰⁾ / Daisaku Ikeda (池田大作, Ikeda Daisaku)
  The honorary president of SGI and the founder of the original Kōmeitō party. He's the old man who slams the desk, the “Inusaku Drum” (犬作ドラム), at a 1995 conference in Los Angeles.
• Rie Shibata (柴田理恵, Shibata Rie)
  The glasses-wearing old lady, an actress and comedian, that appears in My Wonderful Life: Part 4.
  • Fusako Saitō (斉藤ふさ子, Saitō Fusako)
    Some old lady with a striped shirt who talks about how Shibata gave her a purpose.
  • Masahari Mori (森雅晴, Mori Masaharu)
    An actor from the same talent agency as Hisamoto and Shibata, but is not an SGI member. He is mostly known for his mysterious “saiya you” (ｻｲｶﾖｳ) comment than anything.
  • Yasu Genki (元氣安, Genki Yasu)
    Another actor from the same talent agency as Hisamoto and Shibata, but is not an SGI member. For the skit, Shibata insults his intelligence for being late, demonstrating her fierceness.
• Yude Tamago (ゆでたまご, lit. “Boiled Egg”)
  Some bald audience member that gives a peace sign to the camera, written as “vO”, “v0”, or “v○”. If it's not obvious, “boiled egg” is referring to his bald head (and maybe the mangakas). ✌️🥚
  • Airhei (エア平, Eahei) / Namihei Isono (磯野波平, Isono Namihei)
    Sazae's father in Sazae-san who says “souka, souka” (そうか、そうか).
  • Rumia (ルーミア, Rūmia)
    A youkai in Touhou Project who is known for saying “sō nanokā” (そーなのかー), which can be arranged to “sōka nanokā” (そーかなのかー). By proxy, the RMA in Cookie☆ counts too.
  • Sōseiseki (蒼星石)
    The doll with a black hat in Rozen Maiden. In the anime, she stops Suiseiseki and Hinaichigo from 'boiling' an egg with a microwave, shouting “da-dame da yo!” (だ、だめだよー！).

• The Constitution of Japan calls for a separation of church and state in Article 20, but this isn't really enforced as there are political parties in power that have indirect ties to religion.
  • Kōmeitō (NKP) has discreet ties to Sōka Gakkai International, but following the Assassination of Shinzo Abe, it was revealed that Jimintō (LDP) also has ties to the Unification Church.
    • This is especially alarming when you consider that Jimintō and Kōmeitō are both maintaining a governing coalition since 2012, on top of Jimintō leading a dominant-party system.
  • On the other hand, a lot of the aggression towards SGI does stem from a fear of secretive religions, considering that Aum Shinrikyo (now “Aleph”) historically had openly engaged in terrorism.
• Back on January 2, 2003, there was a 2channel thread on Hisamoto's appearance in this tape,¹¹⁾ but it was mostly just treated as gossip that didn't really amount to anything.

• Atama ga Pān - The current Japanese wiki.
• Airmoto-san and Hissu Amoto-san on Niconico Encyclopedia
• Airmoto on the Cookie☆ Explanation Wiki
• Airmoto-san and Hissu Amoto-san on Pixiv Encyclopedia
• Airmoto-san on Namu Wiki [KO]

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