Hirono Shelter meaning: all 13 figures and where Hirono hides
As of 4 November 2026. Hirono Shelter (Hirono Shelter Series Figures) is a POP MART series released on 19 July 2024. It has 13 figures: 12 regulars and one secret, Stuffed Bear. All 13, with Have and Want marks, are in the set Hirono Shelter.
A shelter that doesn’t always protect
Picture a small boy trying to hide from everything around him. He builds a fort, wraps himself in a blanket, hides in a little house. And then suddenly he is in a cage. Somewhere around that point a question appears: does every shelter really make you feel safe? That is the theme of Hirono Shelter.
Hirono is the character created by the Chinese artist Lang, known for his thoughtful gaze and slightly sad face; through him Lang explores emotions we don’t always show other people. In an Instagram post of 12 July 2024 (as quoted by everytoys.com), POP MART explained that a shelter is not only a place to stay physically but also a way to hide from worries and sadness. So Hirono tries on different guises, turning everyday objects into little hiding places of his own. POP MART has not published a separate backstory for each figure, so what follows is our author’s reading.
Mark what you already have
Tap — “Have”, tap again — duplicate (×2, ×3…). Hold — “Want” or one less.
- Candleholder
- Mantel Clock
- Poet
- Traffic Cone
- Fort
- Circus
- Cabin
- Birdy
- Alien
- Warrior
- Sunny Doll
- Birdcage
- Stuffed Bear
A fort, a cabin and a clock: where do you feel at home?
At first glance Fort is one of the safest shelters. Hirono has literally hidden inside a grey stone tower: only his hair and eyes show above the walls, and the roof sits on his head like a hat. A fortress keeps the world out, but it also hides whoever is inside. Isn’t that how our own defences against other people sometimes work?
Photo: POP MART
Cabin feels completely different: a little wooden house with windows, a chimney and a bird perched on it. There are no stern stone walls here, and the figure is much closer to our usual idea of a cosy home.
Photo: POP MART
Mantel Clock offers a more curious way to hide. Hirono sits inside a wooden clock case with a SHELTER plaque, and according to POP MART’s caption both doors open and close. It is easy to read it as a wish to shut out not only people but time itself, always rushing somewhere.
Photo: POP MART
Three figures, three ideas of calm: for some it is solid walls, for some a home of their own, for some the chance to stop, even for a moment.
When protection becomes a trap
Perhaps the most ambiguous character in the series is Birdcage. Hirono’s head is inside a gold birdcage; he is wrapped in a dark blue blanket with stars and looks out through the bars. A cage can protect a bird from danger, but the price of that protection is freedom. The figure is a reminder of how we sometimes build our own limits to avoid trouble: turning down new experiences, not daring to change, keeping people at a distance.
Photo: POP MART
Traffic Cone carries a similar idea in a different way. Hirono stands inside a striped traffic cone wrapped in barbed wire, with a DON’T CROSS sign above his head; the top piece, POP MART’s caption says, is magnetic. Here the line between personal space and “keep away” becomes very visible.
Photo: POP MART
And Warrior, in home-made cardboard armour — a star-shaped hood and a tabard reading KEEP OUT! — looks as if he is protecting himself with whatever he could find. His armour hardly seems unbreakable, but for a small hero it may be enough to feel braver. The bone and the left hand detach, according to POP MART.
Photo: POP MART
What is interesting about these characters is not only what they are hiding from. The bigger question is what they feel they must defend against even when there may be no real danger around them.
Not every hiding place has walls
Some Shelter characters are harder to call ordinary shelters. Poet hides behind a wooden cut-out with a painted suit and hat: unlike a fort or a house, his protection is the image he shows the world. Circus turns Hirono into a small circus tent, with a serious little face behind the bright stripes. Candleholder looks like a candle with wax running down his body, and the flame on his head comes off.
Sunny Doll wears a white cloth hood tied with a ribbon, Birdy a feathered costume with a bell you can reposition, and Alien looks like a tiny flying saucer. Each of them offers another way of dealing with the world, and not all of them try to shut it out completely: sometimes you can hide behind a role, a fantasy or an unusual costume.
Stuffed Bear: back to childhood comfort
One Shelter character is hidden from the regular lineup. Stuffed Bear is the thirteenth figure and the secret. Hirono wears a brown teddy-bear suit with a red scarf and a patch on the belly, and the bear head, with a button for one eye, comes off and holds on with a magnet. POP MART does not give the odds; sellers put it at 1 in 144 boxes.
Unlike a fortress, a cage or armour, a teddy bear brings a completely different feeling. In childhood a soft toy is often the one you hug when you are scared or lonely, the one you tell secrets to and take to bed. Adults look for protection in solid walls, rules and control, while a child sometimes only needs to hug a favourite toy. Perhaps that is why Stuffed Bear works so well as the symbolic ending of the series. It is only one possible reading of the design, but details like these make Shelter more than a set of figures.
Photo: POP MART
All 13 figures and what moves
| # | Figure | What it shows, what moves |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candleholder | Candle in a holder; flame detaches |
| 2 | Mantel Clock | Clock case; both doors open |
| 3 | Poet | Wooden cut-out of a gentleman in a hat |
| 4 | Traffic Cone | Cone and barbed wire; magnetic top |
| 5 | Fort | Stone tower, only the eyes show |
| 6 | Circus | Circus tent on a striped base |
| 7 | Cabin | Little house with a chimney and a bird |
| 8 | Birdy | Feathers and a repositionable bell |
| 9 | Alien | Flying saucer and propeller helmet |
| 10 | Warrior | Cardboard armour; bone and hand detach |
| 11 | Sunny Doll | White cloth doll with a ribbon |
| 12 | Birdcage | Head in a cage, starry blanket |
| 13 | Stuffed Bear | Secret: bear suit, magnetic bear head |
The order follows POP MART’s official lineup on popmart.com; the figures themselves are not numbered. Moving parts are as captioned on POP MART’s product photos.
Thirteen ways to hide, and no single answer
Hirono Shelter is sold as a blind box, one random figure in a sealed box. On POP MART’s US site a box costs $19.99 and a set of 12 boxes $239.88; in Canada a box is C$26.99 (popmart.com, 4 November 2026). POP MART sells the 12-box set without repeats, but the secret can replace one of the regulars. The figures are 6–10 cm (2.36–3.94 in) tall, made of ABS, PVC and magnets, and marked not suitable for under-15s.
On ColleX you can track your Hirono Shelter collection, mark the figures you have and find collectors to trade the missing ones with. Another Hirono series in the catalogue is Hirono × Harry Potter.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Shelter is that none of its figures gives a final answer to where it is really safe. Sometimes a shelter is your own room. Sometimes it is a person you can be yourself with. And sometimes it is a small teddy bear that reminds you how to feel calm when the world seems too complicated.
Frequently asked questions
Who created Hirono?
The Chinese artist Lang, who launched Hirono as a POP MART art toy in 2021. The character carries all sorts of human emotions, and the Shelter series continues that theme through hiding places and objects linked to feeling safe.
What does the Hirono Shelter series mean?
According to POP MART’s Instagram post of 12 July 2024, a shelter is not just a place but a way to hide from worries and sadness. POP MART has not published an individual story for each of the 13 figures; the readings in this article are our author’s own.
What is the Hirono Shelter secret and what are the odds?
Stuffed Bear, Hirono in a teddy-bear suit. POP MART does not give the odds; sellers quote 1 in 144.
Can you tell the secret before opening the box?
No, the boxes are identical. Collectors compare box weights (searches like “hirono shelter secret weight”), but POP MART does not publish weights and we have not weighed any boxes, so we give no figures.
Does a 12-box set guarantee all 12 regulars?
No. If Stuffed Bear is in the set, it replaces one regular figure at random.
How much does Hirono Shelter cost?
$19.99 a box and $239.88 for a set of 12 on POP MART’s US site, C$26.99 a box in Canada (popmart.com, 4 November 2026).