5million yen Kitty neckless.

Do you know Hello Kitty? It is popular character created by Sanrio. Not only Japan, Hello Kitty seems to be poplar in the U.S too, look! Cameron Diaz wearing Hello Kitty necklace.

Hello Kitty is 31 years old this year. Ikuko Shimizu designed in 1974. Now she work as a freelance designer and made new cat character named Angel cat sugar. (Ah kawaiku nai) Here is the 30 years anniversary site. When Hello Kitty was first created, its target was young children. In the 70s, elementary school girls hung around Sanrio shop with hands clasped around their small allowance all over Japan. Not only Hello Kitty, Patty and Jimmy (they came from Kansas city, they say), My Melody, Kiki & Lala and Taxido Sum were popular characters. You can check their character history on this page.  After the first boom in the 70s, Hello Kitty and all Sanrio characters were not popular anymore. I think our image for Sanrio was "just for kids" or "cheap". Actually we can see such their annoyance in their character too. What is this?, this, this, this... I think all are rough around the edges. don't you think so?

However the turning point for Sanrio had come in 1996. A popular (in those days) J-pop singer Tomomi Kahara said she liked "Hello Kitty" in public, then her fans, junior high, high school girls and even 20s girls began to buy Hello Kitty goods. So quickly Hello Kitty got to be popular again, and it has continued through to today. I think there is nothing which has NOT had a Kitty version in this country. ipod, camera, car, sweets, telephone, sofa, cook pot, ramen, I think maybe we have a Kitty version of Mickey Mouse :-p. Recently a guy bought 5millien yen Hello Kitty jewellery for his daughter. Ha! Crazy!

Ah! the kitter 42years old guy said he is wearing Kitty sandal at job and he said he got Kitty pyjamas... what! what! what!...orz.
Me? I have to be nervous because of extreme discomfort in Kitty goods.... However like I told you I am assigned for Sanrio cell phone website in my job. Ah.. I'm telling you this in confidence, we can't call Kitty "that Cat" in front of Sanrio peoples. We have to act like "Oh Lord Kitty, fortunately, business is thriving because of you." BUT!! now I can sense it is getting down... he he he. Well I was going to talk another Sanrio characters, but now I am so full. I will talk it later.

Comments

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[クレア (Claire)]

For me, it seems that every institution in Japan--banks, city, bus company, gas company, subway--has a cute mascot.

I think Japanese like to put a face on their institutions, even though they are mostly giant keiretsu where you may never be greeted by name although you go there every day and spend lots of time/money. But that is probably pure American cynicism.

And that cute mascot will be on your one-day norihodai bus card, or your prepaid keitai refill card, or on the window of the Osaka Gas shop, or in the lobby of the cash corner, smiling at you, bidding you good day. I'm sure someone uses Hello Kitty for their mascot, but nobody that I do business with.

Citibank and Vodafone are too boring to have mascots, although I got a little ICOCA keitai strap when I bought my prepaid phone a couple years ago in the Vodafone store in Kyoto JR Station. But that's a JRWest mascot, so maybe that doesn't count... I did have a Japan Rail pass, but they don't have a mascot for that, just a detail from Hokusai's "Under the wave off Kanagawa"

[Mari]

Hi Mariana
Thank you for introducing my post your blog.
I like you blog. Great kitty information.

[Mariana]

Hi! I'm not what I'd call a fan of Hello Kitty, but I like it. And I recently started a blog on the Hello Kitty phenomenon, just recording every time I stumble into a Hello Kitty image to prove that it's everywhere these days! So I posted about this page. Thanks for the links, they are very interesting! :)

[Mari]

I am thinking why Japanese like character. Some said people need "healing", kitty make her relax. But only Japanese are so tired an d need healing? I don't think so. I think we have anothre reason ( but I don't like character ). What do you think?

[Cath]

Hee... yes, there was a Hello Kitty craze in Singapore some years back. People fought over free Hello Kitty toys given out by McDonald's. It's was really mad. And a glass door broke because of the mad rush... and some people were injured.

I would love to have a Hello Kitty pen again! =) And maybe your co-worker can bring me shopping for Hello Kitty stuff! Haha...

[cecile]

i had so many sanrio stuff when I was in kinder. i had a hello kitty camera, my melody bottle, tuxedo sam wallets, kiki and lala albums among others. it was kind of automatic here, once you're a 4 year old girl, they expect you to like sanrio. I, on the other hand, appreciated Bioman (from TBS) better. hehe.

[クレア (Claire)]

They sell Hello Kitty merchandise in US, but mostly at Target, which is a discount store (like Wal-Mart, but cleaner and nicer). There are many things for little girls, such as toys, shoes, clothing, and some things like t-shirts for women.

There are places such as "Too Cool" that sell Hello Kitty and other Sanrio import goods from Japan and Korea such as notebooks, keitai straps, keyholders, pencils. Sometimes there are San-X character goods like Kogepan (one of my favorites) or the odd ones like Tare Panda. Often they have random anime goods as well.

The Korean character goods are more interesting because the English is even stranger. Their characters have names like Cherry White and are very tall, 1960s or 1980s looking, maybe like Blythe dolls.

At Mitsuwa, they have the Sanyo Co. Hello Kitty toaster. (Now was it Sanyo or Sharp that made all their managers spend winter bonus on company products due to poor sales this past year?) Mitsuwa may also have a Hello Kitty vacuum, 炊飯器 and エアーポット, as far as 家電気. ミツワでいつもHello Kittyのふりかけやおかしいもがたくさんあります。

As for me, I always thought it was kind of odd to see a guy in Japan with a Hello Kitty keitai strap. Almost everybody in Japan likes cute things...

Mari, I feel sorry for you having to work on that site. 大変ですね！Nietsche said "Whatever does not destroy [you] makes [you] stronger," so take that to heart! Don't let that cat get you down!

[Martin]

Yeah, let's start a "I hate that cat" campaign...

[ben]

orz...I hate "that cat" too, Mari!

[Kirk]

Hmmm, I think Hello Kitty will always be popular, but it goes in and out of style. Having famous people say they like it always helps. Even in the US, we knew what Hello Kitty was when we were growing up. Scary! I mean, great!

[Vykintas]

what can i say..
i hope Santio people are not going to read this. :)
omg, my junior sister have 3 little kitty's figures on her table. And i thought it's yet another leftover..