次男は熊本出張でくまモンの人形も買ってきてくれました。病室にという思いからで，看護士さんたちには好評だったとのこと。
くまモンのことを英語ではどう紹介されているのか，サイトをいくつかチェックしてみました。うちきちんとした英語で書かれたのが以下のサイトの紹介文です。
Getting to Know Kumamon, Japan’s Superstar Mascot
Kumamon, a wide-eyed and red-cheeked bear representing Kumamoto Prefecture, is the gold standard of yuru kyara, Japan’s pervasive promotional mascots. Since debuting in 2011, the character has won hearts in Japan and abroad, bringing in billions of yen in sales of Kumamon-related goods in the process. A former employee of the Kumamoto prefectural government explains how the regional mascot become famous at home and overseas.
King of Mascots
Kumamoto brings to mind a myriad of images. The largely rural prefecture in central Kyūshū is home to majestic Kumamoto Castle, its iconic black walls, stone fortifications, and ornate rooftiles recently restored to full splendor following a string of devastating earthquakes in 2016. To epicureans the name is synonymous with succulent Kumamoto oysters, a breed originating in the prefecture that is now featured on menus from New York to Tokyo.
Then there is Kumamon, a bipedal bear with black fur, red cheeks, and a glassy stare who travels throughout Japan and further afield promoting the prefecture.
Kumamon is one of hundreds of PR mascots, known colloquially as yuru kyara, who populate Japan. But the smiling, wide-eyed character enjoys fame and fortune of a scale that places him heads and shoulders above his colleagues. His popularity extends beyond Kumamoto and the rest of Japan to places like South Korea, China, and even as far away as Brazil. He rubs elbows with dignitaries, headlines events that draw droves of energetic fans, and charms the media with his antics. Perhaps the most telling record of his appeal is the sales of Kumamon-related goods, which have topped ¥989 billion over the last decade, a figure that other yuru kyara can only dream about.
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b02503/
このようにかなり書ける方が見事にまとめています。
学生にはここにあるすべての表現に目を通してほしいところですが，ここでは the gold standard という言い回しに触れておきます。
これはもともとは経済政策の「金本位（制）」から比喩的に「代表［金字塔］的な作品［存在］ 絶対的基準」という意味に発展したものです。
と定義をしています。
https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/gold-standard
くまモンはもはやゆるキャラの中でひこにゃんと並んで絶対的な基準として認知されているのですね。そう言えば，書斎にも
こんな英和辞典があります。おなじクマでもこれらは大歓迎。（UG）
