Big in Japan: Hello Kitty is Japan’s new tourism ambassador

by Matthew Firestone on

If you thought that the political world of international diplomacy was dry and boring, then guess again….

This week in Japan, government leaders shocked the media by announcing that their latest ambassador to the world is a giant anime cat. Of course, we’re not just talking about any old cat, but none other than Hello Kitty ( ??????????????????; Har? Kiti), that lovable feline that has appeared on everything from bento boxes and chopsticks to cell phones and designer tennis shoes.

According to the Japanese government, Hello Kitty will soon begin serving as the tourism ambassador to China and Hong Kong in a bid to attract more foreign visitors. At a light-hearted public event, a kimono-clad Hello Kitty received a certificate to commemorate her appointment from Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba.

Hello Kitty is no stranger to politics. Since 1983, she’s served as the Children’s Ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). However, her new appointment is much more monetary in focus, especially since Japan is hoping to raise its tourism revenue by attracting more than 10 million overseas visitors each year. At present, tourists from China and Hong Kong comprise more than 15 percent of foreign visitors to Japan.

Hello Kitty was created in 1974 by Sanrio – the very first product was a clear vinyl coin purse bearing the face of Hello Kitty, which sold for 240 yen or approximately two dollars. Surprisingly, Hello Kitty was intended to be named ‘Kitty White’ after one of Alice’s cats in the Lewis Carroll classic Through the Looking-Glass. At the time, British culture was the height of fashion amongst Japanese girls, and Hello Kitty was never intended to have any appeal beyond the pre-adolescent female market.

Of course, the designers at Sanrio failed to fully appreciate the Japanese obsession with all things cute!

Interestingly enough, Hello Kitty is the second anime cat to receive an official government title. This past March, Japan’s foreign minister, namely Masahiko Komura, appointed a giant stuffed Doraemon as Japan’s first ‘anime ambassador,’ tasked with making friends by traveling around the world. According to Mr. Komura: “As an anime ambassador, Doraemon will deepen people’s understanding of Japan so they will become friends with Japan.”

On a serious note, the recent appointments of cartoon cats to government posts couldn’t come at a better time, especially since Japan’s international popularity has waned significantly following a number of controversies including various World War II denial scandals and increased whaling efforts. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Japanese government is extremely keen to promote the country’s strong cultural attributes, such as the weird and wonderful world of manga.

So, I’d like to join the chorus of well-wishers by congratulating Hello Kitty-san on her sexy new job as Japan’s tourism ambassador. 心から本とにおめでとうございます！！

(Special thanks to my sister for uncovering this amusing little news item!)

** Top photo taken by Koji Sasahara (AP)**

Big in Japan: Hello Kitty goes macho

by Matthew Firestone on

Easily one of the Japan’s most recognizable cartoon characters, Harō Kiti (Hello Kitty, ハローキティ) is known and loved the world over.

Created in 1974 by Sanrio, the very first Hello Kitty product was a clear vinyl coin purse bearing the face of the smiling feline, which sold for 240 yen or approximately two dollars.

Originally, Hello Kitty was intended to be named ‘Kitty White’ after one of Alice’s cats in the Lewis Carroll classic ‘Through the Looking-Glass.’

At the time, British culture was the height of fashion amongst Japanese girls, and Hello Kitty was never intended to have any appeal beyond the pre-adolescent female market.

Of course, the designers at Sanrio failed to fully appreciate the Japanese obsession with all things cute.

More than thirty years later, graying salarymen think nothing of dangling a hot pint Hello Kitty strap from their cell phone, while middle-aged housewives swear that the Hello Kitty toaster is the best on the market.

(And, truth be told, I’ve been known to rock out some Hello Kitty chopsticks from time to time).

Of course, all of this is about to change as Hello Kitty is getting an image change and going macho.

This week, Sanrio announced that the face of Hello Kitty will soon be stamped on T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men.

According to a company spokesperson, “Young men these days grew up with character goods. That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty.”

The for-men products will go on sale in Japan next month, and will likely be sold soon in the United States, Europe and other Asian nations assuming the new line is a success.

So what exactly will the new face of Hello Kitty look like?

The new line of man-focused Hello Kitty products will have a “rugged, cool look” to appeal to men in their teens and early twenties.

One of the first products will be the face of the famous feline on a black T-shirt with the words, “hello kitty”, instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.

But, no matter how much Hello Kitty changes over the coming years, one thing is for certain – she’s here to stay.

Today, Hello Kitty is a global trademark that is appeals to virtually all age groups and both sexes. According to estimates, Hello Kitty adorns over 22,000 products worldwide, and earns almost a billion dollars a year in revenue for the Sanrio Company of Japan.

Since 1983, she’s held the position as the US Children’s Ambassador for UNICEF, and has been sported by celebrities as diverse as Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz and Paris Hilton.

Sanrio stores can be found across the globe, and the face of Hello Kitty adorns everything from clothing and stationary to jewelry and electronics.

Despite her syrupy sweet image, Hello Kitty has even appeared on adult underwear, wedding dresses and even a signature line of sex toys.

Hello Kitty – she’s not just for little girls anymore.

Big in Japan: Hello Kitty and the Culture of Cute (Part II)

by Matthew Firestone on

This post is the continuation of yesterday’s column on Hello Kitty and the Culture of Cute.

You don’t have to look too hard in Japan to find something cute.

From ruffled clothing and dollhouse shoes to smiling mascots and anime characters, evidence of kawaisa (cuteness, ??????) is everywhere in Japan. Even beyond consumer goods, being cute has become something of a national obsession, with women (and increasingly men) of all ages striving to achieve their own unique expression of kawaisa.

Surprisingly, cute culture is increasingly being accepted as a part of the national identity. Indeed, there is a growing sense of pride in the fact that cute things are immediately thought of as being ‘Japanese.’

In recent years, kawaisa has even been successfully exported to neighboring Asian countries and to a lesser extent the West. Beyond Hello Kitty, Japanese super-cute fashion is all the rage in Taiwan, South Korea and parts of China, and even Americans can now identify Harajuku Girls thanks to the pop sensation Gwen Stefani.

Of course, this brings about the question: why do the Japanese love cute things?

Much has been written about this subject, and sadly I don’t have the time or the space to outline everything here. But, there is no shortage of theories out there trying to explain this surprisingly profound question.

For instance, some academics claim that kawaisa is the modern manifestation of the Japanese obsession with harmony and order. Then again, when I ask my students why they dress in bright pink and neon green, they usually reply, ‘It just makes me feel very very very happy.’

With that said, there is a growing minority of Japanese people that hate the idea of kawaisa, and find cute culture to be extremely juvenile and degrading to the society. This opposition to the mainstream is not hard to understand, given that past Japanese culture focused on restraint and minimalism. Consider for a moment the time and skill it takes to study calligraphy, tea ceremony, zen meditation, karate or any of Japan’s traditional arts.

So, is it possible for a culture to simultaneously embrace sumo wrestling and Pokemon?

Clearly, modern Japan is in a state of flux, which is one of the reasons why it’s such an interesting place to live. In the span of a few hours, it’s possible to take in an afternoon performance of live kabuki theatre, and then blow a few thousand yen playing the latest arcade games.

But, no matter what happens to mainstream Japanese culture in the years to come, one thing is for sure – Hello Kitty is here to stay. Since 1983, she’s held the position as the US Children’s Ambassador for UNICEF, and has been sported by celebrities as diverse as Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz and Paris Hilton. Sanrio stores can be found across the globe, and the face of Hello Kitty adorns everything from clothing and stationary to jewelry and electronics. Despite her syrupy sweet image, Hello Kitty has even appeared on adult underwear, wedding dresses and even a, well, how should I say this – ‘personal massager.’

Hello Kitty – she’s not just for children anymore.

(Hello Kitty Vibrator picture sourced from www.jlist.com. If you’re over 21, yes – you can buy one).

** Special thanks to Flickr users Beggs (Cosupre Girl) and Morbuto (Alice in Wonderland) **

Big in Japan: Hello Kitty and the Culture of Cute

by Matthew Firestone on

Let’s start today’s column with a warm-up exercise. Ready to waken up that brain?

Name the first five things that come to mind when you think about Japan.

Ready. Set. Go!

??????????????????????????Zero.

Need more time? Sorry – I’m working with a limited amount of space here! So, did you come up with sushi? Sumo wrestling? Cherry blossoms? Rock gardens?

How about Hello Kitty?

Easily one of the Japan’s most recognizable cartoon characters, Har? Kiti (Hello Kitty, ??????????????????) is known and loved the world over. From Hello Kitty bento boxes and chopsticks to cell phone straps and designer tennis shoes, Hello Kitty is a global trademark that appeals to virtually all age groups and both sexes. According to estimates, Hello Kitty adorns over 22,000 products worldwide, and earns almost a billion dollars a year in revenue for the Sanrio Company of Japan.

Hello Kitty was created in 1974 by Sanrio – the very first product was a clear vinyl coin purse bearing the face of Hello Kitty, which sold for 240 yen or approximately two dollars. Surprisingly, Hello Kitty was intended to be named ‘Kitty White’ after one of Alice’s cats in the Lewis Carroll classic Through the Looking-Glass. At the time, British culture was the height of fashion amongst Japanese girls, and Hello Kitty was never intended to have any appeal beyond the pre-adolescent female market.

Of course, the designers at Sanrio failed to fully appreciate the Japanese obsession with all things cute.

One of the first words foreigners learn upon arriving in Japan is the all-important catch phrase kawaii (cute, 可愛い). The favorite three syllables of most women in Japan, cuteness is a cultural obsession that few foreigners completely understand. While Western beauty and fashion stresses the importance of women looking sexy, a large percentage of Japanese females strive to attain the highest possible level of kawaisa (cuteness, 可愛さ). Incorporating everything from brightly colored hair-extensions and fluorescent eye make-up to knee-high socks and flowery dresses, Japanese fashion can simultaneously shock your senses and melt your heart.

With that said, cute culture extends far beyond the realms of beauty and fashion, and it’s by no means limited to the female segment of the population. If you look for it, kawaisa appears virtually everywhere in Japan, even in places that Westerners would consider juvenile. For instance, the Japanese think nothing of using cartoon characters and random bits of cuteness for public service announcements, office memos, government letters and even police notices.

So, it should come as no surprise that Hello Kitty is a marketing phenomenon unlike no other. Greying salarymen think nothing of dangling a hot pink Hello Kitty strap from their cell phone, while middle-aged housewives swear that the Hello Kitty toaster is the best on the market.

(And, truth be told, I’ve been known to rock out some Hello Kitty chopsticks from time to time).

Tune in tomorrow for Part II of Hello Kitty and Culture of Cute.

** Special thanks for Flickr users ♥ Cherie♥ (cute girl), ChaTox (Lolita Girl) and Seiya235 (Umbrella Girl) **

Big in Japan: The Beginning

by Matthew Firestone on

I guess the question at hand is simply this: where to begin?

Should I kick off my first real column talking about the 151 rules of sushi etiquette? Or should I instead pontificate on the virtues of a perfectly brewed cup of green tea? Better yet, perhaps I should offer some sort of experiential wisdom for zen seekers the world over? Well, I shall touch on all of these issues at some point in my writings, but alas not today.

On the contrary, I’d like to offer some random musings on one simple question: why Japan?

Whether you’ve lived in Japan for years and are starting to forget your English, or you’re fresh off the plane and are fighting your jet-lag with vending machine coffee, ex-pats inevitably struggle with this simple question. To complicate the matter at hand, Japanese people are fascinated with foreigners in their country, and seem to revel in asking us why we abandoned our Western trappings for a life of bento boxes and Hello Kitty chopsticks.

Truth be told, most of us over here really don’t know why we’re here, and simply rebuff these inquiries with a simple ‘nantonaku‘ or ‘why not?’ Although most Westerners would view this answer as a cop out, the Japanese are far too polite to push the issue. Japan is a land of manners and grace, and people here are extremely adept at reading between the lines and avoiding unnecessary confrontation.

Of course, I guess after several years of on and off living in Japan, I should be able to answer this question. Indeed, if I had a yen for every time my friends and family asked me why I keep coming back here, I’d be able to eat my weight in toro (fatty tuna). Sadly, I’ve yet to come up with a simple and easy answer, though I’ll do my best to try.

One of the joys of traveling is pushing your comfort zone, dealing with culture shock and learning that the world is vastly more complicated that you could have ever managed. From witnessing grinding poverty for the first time to finding yourself on the open road, all of us have a place in our mind that touches us to the core. With that said, no matter how much time I spend over here, Japan never ceases to blow my mind.

Every time I walk down the streets of Tokyo, I feel like a hyperactive ‘kid in a candy shop’ who forgot to take his Ritalin. Japan is bursting at the seams with stimuli, and every time I think I’ve figured it out or seen it all, something inevitably floors me.

Indeed, what other country in the world could bring you consumer goods such as the ‘nipple scarf,’ which keeps you warm while compensating for certain inadequacies? Or, why spend another night alone in bed when you can snuggle up to the ‘hubby pillow,’ which never snores, never complains and always stays on its side of the bed.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Japan is a weird, wacky and wonderful place. Keep tuning in to ‘Big in Japan‘ – there is plenty more to come.