Shimeji (しめじ)¹⁾ is a customizable Java program for Windows that lets cute desktop mascots roam around your screen. It was programmed by “Yuki Yamada” and made public on June 2, 2009²⁾³⁾ under a BSD license. It was then forked by “Relic-NT”, and later forked by “Kilkakon”.

The original Shimeji distribution page let you select from “Personal”, “Professional”, and “Ultimate” with the version representing the activity level.⁴⁾ When it was forked by “Relic-NT”, the downloads page showed “Calm” and “Mischievous”. As for the current fork by “Kilkakon”, there's only one download, so you'll have to manually disable “Allowed Behaviours” since all actions are enabled by default.

You can add new Shimeji by copying over the Shimeji's folder into the /img/ folder, then go into “Settings” and choose what you want. Be warned that the program may not start if you select some, rename your folders, and the program can't find them. If you find a customized Shimeji file,⁵⁾ just copy over the /img/ with all the images (e.g. shime1.png) and rename the file.

• Shimeji Home Page [Archived] - The original page for Shimeji by “Yuki Yamada”.
  • Shimeji English Enhanced (Shimeji-EE) - The old English fork by “Relic-NT”.
  • Shimeji-ee - The current, recommended fork by “Kilkakon”, works with Windows 10.
• Shimeji @Wiki - Japanese wiki for Shimeji. Houses three Shimeji lists.