Hello Kitty turns 50 on Friday. Befitting a pop icon at midlife, the bubble-headed, bow-wearing character’s fictional birthday has introduced museum reveals, a theme park spectacle, and a nationwide tour. And that’s simply in Japan, her literal birthplace however not the one listed in her official biography.
Confused? Welcome to the social gathering. If there’s one factor about Hello Kitty, it’s that she’s confirmed adaptable and as a lot a research in contrasts throughout her lengthy profession. She—and Kitty is a she, based on the company that owns her—might have been conceived as a vessel for the sentiments of others, however some ladies see an empowering image in her mouthless face.
“Shrewd” is how Mika Nishimura, a design professor at Tokyo’s Meisei College, describes the best way Hello Kitty conquered the worlds of commerce, style and entertainment. As a tabula rasa open to interpretation, the non-threatening creation was the proper car for earning money, she stated.
“American feminists have said she doesn’t say anything and acquiesces to everyone. But in Japan, we also see how she may appear happy if you’re happy, and sad if you’re feeling sad,” Nishimura advised The Related Press. “It’s a product strategy that’s sheer genius. By being so adaptable, Kitty gets all those collaborative deals.”
The character’s semicentennial is proof of that. Sanrio, the Japanese entertainment company that holds the rights to Hello Kitty’s title and picture, kicked off the festivities a 12 months in the past with an animation account on TikTok, Roblox video games and an avatar for the social networking app Zepeto.
There have been anniversary editions of merchandise starting from pet collars, cosmetics and McDonald’s Blissful Meals to Crocs and a Baccarat crystal figurine. A gold coin pendant with the picture of Hello Kitty holding the quantity 50 is promoting for about 120,000 yen ($800), whereas a Casio watch prices 18,700 yen ($120).
However first, extra on the origin story.
Not like Mickey Mouse and Snoopy, Hello Kitty didn’t begin as a cartoon. A younger Sanrio illustrator named Yuko Shimizu drew her in 1974 as a ornament for stationery, tote baggage, cups and different small equipment. The design made its debut on a coin purse the following 12 months and became an instantaneous hit in Japan.
As Hello Kitty’s industrial success expanded beyond Asia, so did her private profile. By the late Nineteen Seventies, Sanrio revealed the character’s title as Kitty White, her peak as 5 apples tall and her birthplace as suburban London, the place the corporate stated she lived together with her mother and father and twin sister Mimmy.
“The main theme of Hello Kitty is friendship. When I first created it, I made a family of which Kitty was a part. But then Hello Kitty started to appear in other settings as the character grew,” Shimizu advised the BBC in June. “Sanrio put a lot of effort into building the brand into what it is today.”
Sooner or later, Sanrio designated Kitty’s birthday as Nov. 1, the identical as Shimizu’s. Her background was embellished with hobbies that included enjoying piano, studying and baking. Her TV appearances required co-stars, together with a pet cat named Charmmy Kitty that made its debut 20 years in the past.
However Hello Kitty’s 40th birthday introduced an replace that astonished followers. Sanrio clarified to a Los Angeles museum curator that Kitty, regardless of her feline options, was a little woman. An organization spokesperson repeated the excellence this 12 months, renewing debate on-line in regards to the necessities for being considered human.
“She is supposed to be Kitty White and English. But this is part of the enigma: Who is Hello Kitty? We can’t figure it out. We don’t even know if she is a cat,” artwork historian Joyce S. Cheng, a College of Oregon affiliate professor, stated. “There is an unresolved indeterminacy about her that is so amazing.”
A part of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of “kawaii,” which is Japanese for “cute” but additionally connotes a lovable or adorable essence. Sanrio recruited Shimizu and different illustrators to create “kawaii” characters at a time when cute, girlish types had been in style in Japan. However the phrase is used usually in Japanese society, and never solely to explain infants and puppies.
An aged man, one thing as innocuous as an umbrella, a subcompact automotive or a kitchen utensil, and even a horror film monster can get labeled “kawaii.” By Western requirements, the thought could appear embarrassingly frivolous. However it’s taken significantly in Japan, the place the idea is linked with probably the most honorable instincts.
The complexity of “kawaii” might assist clarify Hello Kitty’s enduring attraction throughout generations and cultures, why Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne launched a tune titled “Hello Kitty” a decade in the past, and why Britain’s King Charles wished Hello Kitty a completely satisfied fiftieth birthday when he hosted Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at Buckingham Palace in June.
Though Hello Kitty could appear to embody the self-sacrificing girl stereotype, it’s revealing that three ladies have served because the character’s chief designers at Sanrio. Yuko Yamaguchi, who has held the function since 1980, is credited with holding the character each trendy and timeless, giving Kitty black outfits or false eyelashes as developments dictated however by no means eradicating the bow from her left ear.
“Hello Kitty, this cultural object, has something to tell us about the history of women in East Asia, and how East Asian women modernized themselves and became professional citizens in a modern society,” the College of Oregon’s Cheng stated.
Sanrio has give you tons of of creatures, all lovable and cuddly, however none with the lasting energy of Hello Kitty. Neglect the understated wabi-sabi aesthetic traditionally related to Japan. A chameleon-like cat-girl who displays unabashed kitsch is the cultural ambassador of a consumer-crazed, happy-go-lucky nation.
“It’s the anti-wabi sabi, wanting to be as flashy and as bling-bling as possible, like Lady Gaga. In your face, but that’s actually part of the genius, too. It’s powerful,” Cheng stated.
Leslie Bow, a professor of English and Asian American Research on the College of Wisconsin-Madison, stated that whereas many Asian and Asian American ladies see Hello Kitty as a image of defiance, the protecting, caretaking intuition aroused by “kawaii” isn’t with out energy.
“We take care of our siblings, our babies, our pets, because we are in control. We control their actions. And so that is also the dark side of cute,” Bow stated.
Sanrio has taken benefit of the character’s adaptability by permitting comparatively unrestricted use of her picture in return for a licensing charge.
Absolutely anything goes for the wee whiskered one, from a rising global empire of Sanrio-sanctioned Hello Kitty cafes to an “augmented reality” cellphone app that exhibits Kitty dancing in entrance of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, London’s Massive Ben and different vacationer landmarks.
On the unsanctioned facet, Hello Kitty even has proven up on weapons and vibrators.
Throughout a presentation earlier this 12 months in Seoul, Hello Kitty designer Yamaguchi stated considered one of her unfulfilled targets was discovering a means “to develop a Hello Kitty for men to fall in love with as well.” However she’s nonetheless engaged on it.
“I am certain the day will come when men are no longer embarrassed to carry around Hello Kitty,” leisure information website Content material Asia quoted Yamaguchi as saying.
—Yuri Kageyama and Lisa Leff, Related Press
Berenice Bautista contributed reporting.