Santa in L.A.: A Mixed Bag : Diversity: In a multicultural city, the jolly old elf takes on many forms. From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw, St. Nicholas is as ethnically diverse as the children he delights.

David Hyun definitely rates a second look when he is dressed up as “Shogun Santa.”

The long beard on his chin does seem as white as snow. His eyes do seem to twinkle. And you do laugh when you see him, in spite of yourself.

But where is the familiar red, fur-lined outfit and matching cap? This Santa instead wears an exquisite red-and-gold kimono , with a gallant red-and-gold warrior’s helmet perched atop his curly white wig, and chunky wooden geta sandals.

And though his laugh is a hearty one, “Ho ho ho” is not this character’s standard line. He is more apt to step forward in regal fashion and announce, in a deep, authoritative voice: “Watashi wa Shogun Santa desu! (I am Shogun Santa!) “

Shogun Santa, who makes his final appearance of the season at Japanese Village Plaza today, is probably the most dramatically different interpretation of the traditional, Nordic-style Christmas character. But the idea of ethnic Santas is popular all over Los Angeles, where the melting pot naturally calls for Santas of different colors.

“We specifically hired black and Hispanic Santa Clauses because our clients are black and Hispanic,” said Allan Davidov, one of the owners of Shoppers World center in Crenshaw. “To us it’s clear. The idea is to present something the customers can relate to.”

The present-day Santa Claus figure himself is the result of a mixture of cultures. Santa’s roots go back to a 4th-Century Christian saint, St. Nicholas, who lived in Asia Minor, now part of Turkey.

St. Nicholas’ reputation for generosity and kindness spurred legends of miracles he performed for the unhappy and the poor, particularly children. This legend traveled across Europe and eventually combined with old Nordic folk tales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded the good ones with presents.

The 75-year-old Hyun, architect and developer of Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo, has provided yet another variation. Hyun helped create the Shogun Santa character nine years ago to unite the Japanese and American cultures represented in Little Tokyo.

“It’s a wedding of Christianity and Buddhism,” said Hyun, who is Korean-American and gleefully points to the multiculturalism represented in his Shogun Santa.

“Japanese culture can really be a part of America--that’s the more powerful message,” he said.

Hyun saw how peacefully different groups can live together while growing up in Hawaii. And his late father, who was honored for his heroism in Korea’s war for independence from Japan, nonetheless always taught Hyun “to never hate the Japanese people.”

While the main purpose of Shogun Santa is to “affirm the mixing of cultures in America,” the character also demonstrates that “a powerful figure can have a warm heart,” Hyun said.

He said he chose the Shogun character to combine with Santa because Japan’s warrior class was “connected to the people and the arts. That’s why they had a long period of peace. They wrote poems, practiced calligraphy . . . and the art of meditation.

“In America, if our commercial life could be connected to art and culture more, it’d be more fun.”

By speaking in a deep voice and walking with a stately strut, Hyun the Shogun Santa also pokes fun at the formalities of the Japanese warrior class. “They had all these pretensions. Here, it is comical,” he said.

Most of the other ethnic Santas in Los Angeles choose to wear the standard red-and-white costume over a round belly--with or without a pillow--to resemble the character epitomized in Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”

However, people disagree on how important it is for children to see a Santa of their own color. Juan Bustos, a 34-year-old Mexico native who portrays one of the Shoppers World Santas, said: “Race or color isn’t important to the children.”

Bustos, who has been in the United States for a year and speaks little English, said smiles brighten the faces of all the children, no matter what their race, when he waves at them and heartily laughs, “Ho ho ho!” This joy is the sole reason the Harbor City resident decided to work as Santa this Christmas.

“I like to see the children happy,” said Bustos, whose own 1-year-old daughter and wife are still in Mexico. “The most important thing is the children’s feelings, for the kids to have fun.”

The folks at Western Temporary Services Inc. agree with Bustos. The Walnut Creek-based employment firm is considered the nation’s largest supplier of Santas, hiring more than 3,000 each year. The company holds training classes for aspiring Santas, called “Santa University.”

About 20% of the roughly 5,000 Santa applicants each year are minorities, including some women; about 15% of the Santas hired in the Los Angeles area are minorities, Western officials said. But race is generally not a major concern, they said. The company only occasionally gets a request for a Santa of a particular ethnicity. More important is whether the applicant cares for children and fits the kindly, positive image of Santa Claus, company officials said.

“We’re an equal opportunity employer,” said Patty Barbour, Western’s public relations director. “We have Santas of all colors.”

Crenshaw business owner Anthony Moultrie believes race is important to children, particularly if they are African-American like himself. “All our lives, we believed Santa was white,” said Moultrie, who owns a photography business and hired the two Santas for Shoppers World. “This gives them a personal pride in their race and culture.”

Part of Moultrie’s 5-year-old business involves providing Santa and other characters for picture-taking opportunities at private parties, and he said he has always tried to hire people of different races to play the characters.

“I’ve had black and Spanish-speaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I colored Santa’s face brown on our fliers,” said Moultrie.

“It’s fun to see the kids’ faces and hear them say, ‘Look--a black Santa!’ ” said Troy Cobb, 19, who has played a Ninja Turtle and Spider Man for Moultrie and is working his second year as Santa Claus at Shoppers World.

“There aren’t a lot of black superheroes,” said Cobb, a USC psychology student and rugby player who graduated from Dorsey High. “This gives them someone to look up to. It opens their mind . . . that everybody can be somebody. Santa doesn’t always have to be white. It’s like God--people see God in different ways.”