This article includes some information about Kumamon’s “birth”:
“TV show writer Kundo Koyama, best known for his work on the Iron Chef cooking series, was charged with promoting the prefecture when a new bullet train service linking Kumamoto with the commercial hub of Osaka was being launched in recent years. Koyama then asked celebrated art director Manabu Mizuno to create a campaign logo, and threw in the cuddly Kumamon as a bonus.”
