The Fascinating History of Hello Kitty: From Japan to Global Icon

Table Of Content

• The Fascinating History of Hello Kitty: From Japan to Global Icon
• Today, there are around 50 Sanrio characters gracing over 22,000 officially-license products.
• Snoopy inspired her creation
• Hello Kitty has been featured in over a dozen video games, including her latest, Hello Kitty Online
• Most Popular Hello Kitty Characters Today
• Birthday

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The Fascinating History of Hello Kitty: From Japan to Global Icon

Cuteness overloaded at EMP Musuem with Hello Kitty exhibition - The International Examiner

Cuteness overloaded at EMP Musuem with Hello Kitty exhibition.

Posted: Thu, 03 Dec 2015 08:00:00 GMT [source]

We are online daily on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, from 9AM to 6PM. The shop -- like the company's first flagship in downtown Los Angeles' Japanese Village -- pays homage to Sanrio's Japanese heritage. From a Hello Kitty figurine posing with a cherry blossom, or sakura, to limited edition product imported for the boutique to the Hello Kitty Kawaii Mart installation, the space blends Japanese and American culture. A new 3,600-square-foot boutique at Hollywood & Highland showcases the best of Hello Kitty.

Today, there are around 50 Sanrio characters gracing over 22,000 officially-license products.

According to the storyline, they are born with a special item called a Fairilu Key that unlocks a corresponding door, and finding this door helps a Fairilu to mature. Fairilus are depicted as multiple species, each themed after something in the mythical or natural world, such as insects, plants, or mermaids. The most common types are Flower Fairilus, of which the primary character Lip (リップ) is descended from. This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. That said, when high-rolling celebrities want to express their love of Hello Kitty, it's not hard to find something bearing her adorable image in a higher price range. Sanrio has teamed up with collaborators such as NYLON magazine to offer fashion for grownup fans, including items like red-and-white Hello Kitty bomber jackets and Badtz-Maru-printed dresses.

Snoopy inspired her creation

In January 2011, the show's creators mutually agreed to end the series after twelve seasons, with the final episode being broadcast on 29 March 2011. One story says that a controversial nuclear power plant hired Sanrio to create a cute corporate mascot that would help soften their image. Another legend tells of a married couple whose only daughter was sick with cancer. In exchange for her recovery, the parents made a pact with the Devil that they would create a character in Satan’s honor that would be adored worldwide. A white dog with big ears and a blue bow, Pochacco is a curious dog who loves going for walks.

Chococat is a scatterbrained black cat with a brown nose and a red collar. He is usually the first to know about things because his whiskers can pick up information like an antenna. A penguin with a bow tie, actually he has a collection of 365 bow ties, one for every day of the year. Tuxedo Sam has one of the most impeccable fashion sense in Hello Kitty. My Melody is also seen in collaboration merchandise with other non-Sanrio series, such as one with Sailor Moon in 2017. My Melody has also been turned into a Pullip doll with two versions; originally released in 2008 and the latest one in 2016.

Drawing from Japanese comics artists and illustrators of the time, Sanrio debuted Hello Kitty's first design in 1974, from artist Yuko Shimizu. The kitty had no name on the product, she just sat on the grass in her blue overalls with a red bow on her left ear. But the purse bore a cheerful "Hello!" in red that eventually became linked to Kitty's name.

Why No Mouth?

Sanrio is appealing the decision, but for the time being, they're banned from selling Cathy merchandise in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. [166] Several video games featuring Cinnamoroll were released for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.[167] In addition to this Cinnamon has appeared as a supporting character in several other animated series and video games from Sanrio. Hello Kitty is a brand that has had success since its very first launch. The sales of Hello Kitty merchandise skyrocketed in Japan which led to Sanrio opening a gift store in the United States in 1976, where the sales of Hello Kitty items was positive as well.

As any Hello Kittyist will tell you, part of her charm is that you can project whatever mood or character you want onto her expressionless, mute face. Hello Kitty has no mouth, so she’ll never say anything you don’t like. Critics say this feature has limited her reach in animated media, but she seems to have weathered the storm so far.

She can be found on everything from stationary to clothing to car accessories, making her accessible to people of all ages. Additionally, Sanrio has been successful in creating limited edition products that appeal to collectors and enthusiasts. Hello Kitty, cartoon character whose likeness adorns hundreds of products for children and adults throughout the world. Hello Kitty's Paradise [ja] was a long-running live-action children's program that aired on TXN from January 1999 to March 2011. It was the longest-running weekly kids' television program in the network's history.

Or you can spend real money to buy Loyalty Points at an exchange rate of 80 points for a $1. To give you some idea of the price, a typical in-game house costs about $5, not including furniture, which is, of course, sold separately. There are a few different theories about why Hello Kitty has no mouth. According to some sources, Hello Kitty was originally designed without a mouth so that she could be seen as a blank slate, and people could project their own feelings and emotions onto her. This idea was intended to make Hello Kitty more relatable and universal. Other sources suggest that Hello Kitty was designed without a mouth because it allows her to be more open and accepting of other people's feelings and emotions, and to be more of a listener than a speaker.

On average, the company introduces three new characters every year, while at the same time taking a handful out of circulation for a little while so they don’t oversaturate the market. Each bed sheet is branded with Hello Kitty, as are the nurses' uniforms. According to a 2008 Reuters report, twice a year, people in character costumes come around and entertain patients. His coolest feature is large ears which allow him to fly and his cinnamon roll shaped tail. Released in 1993, Badtz Maru is a penguin with a mischievous personality.

My Melody can be found on children's toys and merchandise (from jewelry to household items). My Melody was first released in 1975 and the first related merchandise was released at the end of that year. At first, she mainly was marketed toward young girls, but like Hello Kitty her popularity has increased among women and men of all ages, especially in Asia. The character was designed by Yuko Shimizu, who was inspired by the Japanese tradition of kawaii or cuteness.

Nowadays, the popular character can be seen on a range of products like clothing, accessories, home decor, deodorant, bags, stationery and even face massagers. Hello Kitty has also been featured in animated television shows and movies, and has inspired numerous theme parks and attractions around the world. Hello Kitty starred in several television series, beginning with the American animated program Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater in 1987, and also appeared in books and video games. In Japan, Sanrio established the theme parks Puroland (1990; in Tokyo) and Harmonyland (1991; in Ōita), both of which feature its licensed characters, most prominent among them Hello Kitty.

Jamie Rivadeneira, founder and owner of the Los Angeles pop culture boutique JapanLA and curator of the Japanese American National Museum's Hello Kitty exhibit, sheds a little more light on this in The Toys That Made Us. "Hello Kitty is a girl who happens to be a cat," Rivadeneira details, "Charmmy Kitty is more like a cat who has a cat personality." Still confused? Some pop culture icons born in the 1970s turn the world on with a smile. She climbed her way into worldwide recognition without even a mouth — just two eyes, six whiskers, and a little yellow spot of a nose.

When a front and side drawing of Hello Kitty (then unnamed) was shown by Yuko to several other people in the company including her assistant, they greatly preferred the side view drawing and praised it. When Shintaro Tsuji had first seen Hello Kitty, he didn't really have any strong opinions, but warmed up to her later on. With more than 50,000 branded products in more than 130 countries, Hello Kitty is an icon of kaiju-like proportions.

Despite her popularity, there have been controversies surrounding Hello Kitty over the years. One issue is her lack of mouth which has led some critics to argue that she perpetuates submissive behavior in women by not allowing them to express themselves. Around the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hello Kitty transformed from merely cute to ironic and cool. Anthropologist Christine Yano noticed that some products of the time depict her with a wink instead of an innocent stare.