84-459: Sanrio Company, Ltd. ( 株式会社サンリオ , Kabushikigaisha Sanrio ) is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the kawaii ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture . Their products include stationery , school supplies, gifts , and accessories which are sold worldwide, including at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio's best-known character
168-578: A Nintendo press release titled "It's a Pokémon Planet". In recent years, Kawaii products have gained popularity beyond the borders of Japan in other East and Southeast Asian countries and are additionally becoming more popular in the US among anime and manga fans as well as others influenced by Japanese culture. Cute merchandise and products are especially popular in other parts of East Asia , such as mainland China , Hong Kong , Macau , Taiwan and South Korea , as well as Southeast Asian countries including
252-463: A common belief that Sayuri Tabuchi [Tavuchi], the owner of Tokyo fashion store Spank! , was the accidental creator of the style). Kimo-kawaii , also known as "creepy-cute" or "gross-cute" in Japanese, has a unique look by combining Kawaii aesthetics with stylistic elements of horror and macabre. The style emerged in the 1990s when some people lost interest in cute and innocent characters and fashion. It
336-524: A doll that was modeled after an 11-year-old girl. Kawaii has gradually gone from a small subculture in Japan to an important part of Japanese modern culture as a whole. An overwhelming number of modern items feature kawaii themes, not only in Japan but also worldwide. And characters associated with kawaii are astoundingly popular. "Global cuteness" is reflected in such billion-dollar sellers as Pokémon and Hello Kitty. "Fueled by Internet subcultures, Hello Kitty alone has hundreds of entries on eBay , and
420-562: A fashion but also a lifestyle. This is evident in the 2004 film Kamikaze Girls where the main Lolita character, Momoko, drinks only tea and eats only sweets. Gothic Lolita, Kuro Lolita, Shiro Lolita, and Military Lolita are all subtypes, also, in the US Anime Convention scene Casual Lolita. Decora is a style that is characterized by wearing many "decorations" on oneself. It is considered to be self-decoration. The goal of this fashion
504-552: A female-dominated fashion, some men partake in the kawaii trend. Men wearing masculine kawaii accessories is very uncommon, and typically the men cross-dress as kawaii women instead by wearing wigs, false eyelashes, applying makeup, and wearing kawaii female clothing. This is seen predominately in male entertainers, such as Torideta-san, a DJ who transforms himself into a kawaii woman when working at his nightclub. Japanese pop stars and actors often have longer hair, such as Takuya Kimura of SMAP . Men are also noted as often aspiring to
588-616: A global hit, resulting in Japan's global image shifting from being known for austere rock gardens to being known for "cute-worship". In 2014, the Collins English Dictionary in the United Kingdom entered "kawaii" into its then latest edition, defining it as a "Japanese artistic and cultural style that emphasizes the quality of cuteness, using bright colors and characters with a childlike appearance". In his book The Power of Cute , philosophy professor Simon May talks about
672-823: A listed Japanese company. Shintaro Tsuji ran the company for 60 years. Sanrio Inc. is Sanrio's American subsidiary. Sanrio Inc. has offices in South San Francisco, California , and Torrance, California . Sanrio's first Western Hemisphere store opened in San Jose 's Eastridge Mall . In 2008, Sanrio opened its high-end boutique called Sanrio Luxe in New York City's Times Square . In the Western Hemisphere, Sanrio character-branded products are sold in upwards of 13,000 locations including department, specialty, and national chain stores and over 85 Sanrio boutiques. In April 2010,
756-559: A look of innocence in order to further play out this idea of cuteness. Having large eyes is one aspect that exemplifies innocence; therefore, many Japanese women attempt to alter the size of their eyes. To create this illusion, women may wear large contact lenses , false eyelashes , dramatic eye makeup, and even have an East Asian blepharoplasty , commonly known as double eyelid surgery. Japanese idols ( アイドル , aidoru ) are media personalities in their teens and twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for
840-478: A means of self-promotion and potential votes. The creation of the A-Bian doll has allowed Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian staffers to create a new culture where the "kawaii" image of a politician can be used to mobilize support and gain election votes. Japanese popular "kawaii culture" has had an effect on Singaporean youth. The emergence of Japanese culture can be traced back to the mid-1980s when Japan became one of
924-498: A neotenic look. The concept of kawaii has had an influence on a variety of products, including candy, such as Hi-Chew , Koala's March , and Hello Panda . Cuteness can be added to products by adding cute features, such as hearts, flowers, stars, and rainbows. Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets and national government, ward, and town offices. Many companies, large and small, use cute mascots to present their wares and services to
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#17328484499261008-520: A period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g. as singers for pop groups, bit-part actors, TV personalities ( tarento ), models in photo spreads published in magazines, advertisements, etc. (But not every young celebrity is considered an idol. Young celebrities who wish to cultivate a rebellious image, such as many rock musicians, reject the "idol" label.) Speed , Morning Musume , AKB48 , and Momoiro Clover Z are examples of popular idol groups in Japan during
1092-640: A short time, Osamu Tezuka 's baby unicorn character Unico , who starred in two feature-length anime movies in the early 1980s, was also part of the Sanrio's lineup; however, the rights to Unico shifted to Osamu Tezuka's own company after Tezuka's death in 1989. In late 2003, Sanrio won the "Top Brand with a Conscience" award from the Medinge Group of Sweden for its communication principles. The company has partnered with UNICEF since 1984. In 2006, Sanrio launched Sanrio Digital together with Typhoon Games to expand to
1176-650: A similar line style. The Miffy brand is popular in Japan , with strong sales of Japanese-made Miffy merchandise. In an interview for The Daily Telegraph , Bruna expressed his dislike for Hello Kitty. "'That,' he says darkly, 'is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, "No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself". In 1999, Miffy was the ninth top-selling character in Japan, where licensed merchandise sold ¥37.59 billion ( $ 330 million ). In addition, on 26 August 2010, Mercis BV, representing Bruna, brought suit against Sanrio with
1260-512: A variety of situations to describe aesthetics, to give a compliment, or to add a pleasantry or salutation to a conversation. Tomoyuki Sugiyama ( 杉山奉文 , Sugiyama Tomoyuki ) , author of Cool Japan , says cute fashion in Japan can be traced back to the Edo period with the popularity of netsuke . Illustrator Rune Naito , who produced illustrations of "large-headed" ( nitōshin ) baby-faced girls and cartoon animals for Japanese girls' magazines from
1344-480: Is Fairy Kei . Themes such as fruits, flowers, and sweets are often used as patterns on the fabrics used for dresses. Purses often go with the themes and are shaped like hearts, strawberries, or stuffed animals. Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is one of the more popular clothing stores for this style and often carries themes. Mannerisms are also important to many Sweet Lolitas. Sweet Lolita is sometimes not only
1428-593: Is Hello Kitty , a cartoon cat and one of the most successful marketing brands in the world. Sanrio's mission and vision statements are "everyone getting along together" and "One World, Connecting Smiles". Besides selling character goods, Sanrio takes part in film production and publishing. They own the rights to the Mr. Men characters and Japanese licensing rights to the Peanuts characters. Their animatronics branch, called Kokoro Company, Ltd. ( kokoro being Japanese for 'heart')
1512-435: Is a "magic term" that encompasses everything that is acceptable and desirable in Japan. In Japan, being cute is acceptable for both men and women. A trend existed of men shaving their legs to mimic the neotenic look. Japanese women often try to act cute to attract men. A study by Kanebo, a cosmetic company, found that Japanese women in their 20s and 30s favored the "cute look" with a "childish round face". Women also employ
1596-461: Is a subset of Lolita fashion that includes even more ribbons, bows, and lace and is often fabricated out of pastels and other light colors. Head-dresses such as giant bows or bonnets are also very common, while lighter make-up is sometimes used to achieve a more natural look. Curled hair extensions, sometimes accompanied by eyelash extensions, are also popular in helping with the baby doll look. Another subset of Lolita fashion related to "sweet Lolita"
1680-491: Is alleged to be drawn in a similar style to the rabbit Miffy . On August 26, 2010, Mercis BV, representing Miffy's creator Dick Bruna brought suit against Sanrio. They claimed that one of Hello Kitty's companion characters, a rabbit named Cathy, infringes on the copyright and trademark of Miffy. On November 2, 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium, Luxembourg, and
1764-579: Is best known for the Actroid android . The company also runs a franchise of KFC in Saitama Prefecture . Shintaro Tsuji founded Sanrio on August 10, 1960, then known as the Yamanashi Silk Company using ¥ 1,000,000 in capital. In 1962, Tsuji expanded his enterprise from silk to rubber sandals with flowers painted on them. Tsuji noticed his success gained by merely adding a cute design to
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#17328484499261848-415: Is common, although natural hair is also popular, and hairstyles are usually kept simple and decorated with anything cute or pastel; bows are a common theme. Some common items used in a Fairy Kei coordinate include vintage sweaters, cardigans, varsity jackets, tutus, mini skirts, tights, over-the-knee socks, sneakers, and tea party shoes. The term "Fairy Kei" originated from the magazine called Zipper (despite
1932-404: Is considered superficial charm . The neologism developed in the 1980s, perhaps originated by comedian Kuniko Yamada ( 山田邦子 , Yamada Kuniko ) . Miffy Miffy ( Dutch : Nijntje , pronounced [ˈnɛiɲtɕə] ) is a fictional rabbit appearing in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna . The original Dutch name, "nijntje", is a shortening of
2016-638: Is from 面 omo , an archaic word for "face, looks, features; surface; image, semblance, vestige"). Over time, the meaning changed into the modern meaning of "cute" or "pretty" , and the pronunciation changed to かわゆい kawayui and then to the modern かわいい kawaii . It is commonly written in hiragana , かわいい , but the ateji , 可愛い , is also frequently used. The romanized kanji in the ateji literally translates to "able to love/be loved, can/may love, lovable." The original definition of kawaii came from Lady Murasaki 's 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji , in which it referred to pitiable qualities. During
2100-439: Is selling in more than 30 countries, including Argentina , Bahrain , and Taiwan ." Japan has become a powerhouse in the kawaii industry and images of Doraemon, Hello Kitty, Pikachu , Sailor Moon , and Hamtaro are popular in mobile phone accessories. However, Professor Tian Shenliang says that Japan's future is dependent on how much of an impact kawaii brings to humanity. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has also recognized
2184-436: Is to become as vibrant and characterized as possible. People who take part in this fashion trend wear accessories such as multicolor hair pins, bracelets, rings, necklaces, etc. By adding multiple layers of accessories to an outfit, the fashion trend tends to have a childlike appearance. Some individuals may find the exaggerated childlike elements of the kawaii aesthetic to be off-putting or inauthentic. Others, however, appreciate
2268-445: Is usually achieved by wearing creepy or gross clothes or accessories with a stronger emphasis on dark themes and colors. Yami-kawaii or "sickly-cute", emerged in the mid-2010s to emphasize themes of mental health, vulnerability, and emotional darkness through fashion. In contrast to Kimo-kawaii, the style uses black, deep purple, and gray colors on teardrops, broken hearts, pill capsules, and other melancholic motifs. Although typically
2352-550: Is usually associated with the Western society and trends set by designers borrowed or taken from Japan. With the emergence of China, South Korea and Singapore as global economic centers, the Kawaii merchandise and product popularity has shifted back to the East. In these East Asian and Southeast Asian markets, the kawaii concept takes on various forms and different types of presentation depending on
2436-470: The European Commission fined Sanrio 6.2 million euros (approx. 6.9 million US dollars) for blocking cross-border sales of its licensed products. In June 2020, it was announced that the company's founder and president, Shintaro Tsuji would step down from the role and hand control of the company to his grandson, Tomokuni Tsuji. Tomokuni was just 31 at the time, making him the youngest chief executive of
2520-518: The Philippines , Singapore , Thailand , and Vietnam . Sebastian Masuda , owner of 6%DOKIDOKI and a global advocate for kawaii influence, takes the quality from Harajuku to Western markets in his stores and artwork. The underlying belief of this Japanese designer is that "kawaii" actually saves the world. The infusion of kawaii into other world markets and cultures is achieved by introducing kawaii via modern art; audio, visual, and written media; and
2604-669: The Shogunate period under the ideology of neo-Confucianism , women came to be included under the term kawaii as the perception of women being animalistic was replaced with the conception of women as docile. However, the earlier meaning survives into the modern Standard Japanese adjectival noun かわいそう kawaisō (often written with ateji as 可哀相 or 可哀想) "piteous, pitiable, arousing compassion, poor, sad, sorry" (etymologically from 顔映様 "face / projecting, reflecting, or transmitting light, flushing, blushing / seeming, appearance"). Forms of kawaii and its derivatives kawaisō and kawairashii (with
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2688-460: The diminutive konijntje , "little rabbit". The first Miffy book was produced in 1953 and over thirty others have followed. In total they have sold over 100 million copies. In addition, four separate television series as well as items such as clothes and toys featuring the character followed. On 30 January 2013, a feature-length film, Miffy the Movie , was released in theaters and stars Eva Poppink in
2772-475: The 180 degree turn in Japan's history, from the violence of war to kawaii starting around the 1970s, in the works of artists like Takashi Murakami , amongst others. By 1992, kawaii was seen as "the most widely used, widely loved, habitual word in modern living Japanese." Since then, there has been some criticism surrounding kawaii and the expectations of it in Japanese culture. Natalia Konstantinovskaia, in her article "Being Kawaii in Japan", says that based on
2856-600: The 1950s to the 1970s, is credited with pioneering what would become the culture and aesthetic of kawaii. Because of this trend, companies such as Sanrio came out with merchandise like Hello Kitty . Hello Kitty was an immediate success and the obsession with cute continued to develop in other areas as well. More recently, Sanrio has released kawaii characters with deeper personalities that appeal to an older audience, such as Gudetama and Aggretsuko . These characters have enjoyed great popularity as fans are drawn to their quirks as well as their cute aesthetics. The 1980s also saw
2940-572: The 2000s & 2010s. Lolita fashion is a very well-known and recognizable style in Japan. Based on Victorian fashion and the Rococo period, girls mix in their own elements along with gothic style to achieve the porcelain-doll look. The girls who dress in Lolita fashion try to look cute, innocent, and beautiful. This look is achieved with lace, ribbons, bows, ruffles, bloomers , aprons , and ruffled petticoats . Parasols , chunky Mary Jane heels, and Bo Peep collars are also very popular. Sweet Lolita
3024-565: The Amsterdam sex crimes case . The police had been alerted following a December 2010 broadcast in the Netherlands on the television show Opsporing Verzocht ("Investigation Requested") of images originating from the United States of Mikelson and an unnamed child with a stuffed toy known as Miffy . As Miffy is originally a Dutch product, the investigators suspected the child to be Dutch. After
3108-671: The Internet has taken kawaii to new heights of exposure and acceptance, producing a kawaii "movement". The Kawaii concept has become something of a global phenomenon. The aesthetic cuteness of Japan is very appealing to people globally. Things like Sanrio, Pusheen, Gudetama and more are some popular kawaii things. The wide popularity of Japanese kawaii is often credited with it being "culturally odorless". The elimination of exoticism and national branding has helped kawaii to reach numerous target audiences and span every culture, class, and gender group. The palatable characteristics of kawaii have made it
3192-511: The Internet, online games , and mobile services. Beginning with Jewelpet in 2008, Sanrio started collaborating with Sega Toys in creating characters intended to become media franchises. Subsequent collaborations include Rilu Rilu Fairilu from 2016 and Beatcats from 2020. 2010 was Sanrio's 50th anniversary. In conjunction with this, Build-A-Bear Workshop released limited edition stuffed toys of several Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody and Keroppi. Hello Kitty
3276-527: The Netherlands. Following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanrio and Mercis reached an out-of-court settlement on June 7, 2011, for Sanrio to halt production worldwide of merchandise that feature Cathy. They also jointly announced a €150,000 donation to earthquake victims. In December 2011, Sanrio Global acquired the rights to the Mr. Men characters, which includes the subsidiary Mr Men Films Ltd, taking over Chorion 's THOIP company. In 2019
3360-462: The USA. The show added several new characters, such as Melanie's African family and the family of Boris' and Barbara's common cousin, Umik. The series was produced by Pedri Animation BV, a Dutch stop-motion animation company. It was voiced simply by a feminine storytelling narrator. Miffy is sometimes assumed to be a Japanese character, because Sanrio 's Hello Kitty , introduced in 1974, is rendered using
3444-757: The annual Sanrio Character Ranking poll where fans can vote on their favorite characters. It began in the Strawberry Newspaper ( ja:いちご新聞 ) published by Sanrio in Japan, but now voting also takes place online. Besides their own original characters, Sanrio also owns the rights to the Mr. Men characters and Japanese licensing rights to the Peanuts characters. From 1977 to 1985, Sanrio produced movies through their Sanrio Films label. After A Journey Through Fairyland, Sanrio switched gears and started doing short films, OVAs, and TV shows based on their characters. In 2006, Sanrio announced they are again going to do feature-length films. Sanrio began its involvement in
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3528-580: The article "Embodied Kawaii: Girls' voices in J-pop ", contemporary music researchers argue that female J-pop singers are expected to be recognizable by their outfits, voice, and mannerisms as kawaii – young and cute. Any woman who becomes a J-pop icon must stay kawaii , or keep her girlishness, rather than being perceived as a woman, even if she is over 18. Japanese women who feign kawaii behaviors (e.g., high-pitched voice, squealing giggles ) that could be viewed as forced or inauthentic are called burikko and this
3612-602: The books are her family: Miffy's parents, her Grandma and Grandpa, her Auntie Alice, and 'Uncle Bob,' a family friend, who appears in Miffy Goes Flying . A new brother or sister for Miffy is introduced in Miffy And The New Baby . She also has many friends, Boris and Barbara Bear, who first appeared in 1989 and are boyfriend and girlfriend, Poppy Pig, who appeared in 1977, and her niece Grunty, Snuffy, who appeared in 1969, and other bunnies such as Aggie and Melanie. In
3696-611: The claim that one of Hello Kitty's companion characters, a rabbit named Cathy, infringes on the copyright and trademark of Miffy. On 2 November 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium , Luxembourg , and the Netherlands. On 7 June 2011, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanrio and Mercis reached an out-of-court settlement requiring Sanrio to halt production of merchandise that features Cathy. Instead of continuing
3780-530: The company's former name, has an alternative on'yomi reading of Sanri . The remaining o was added from the ou ( オウ ) sound people make when they are excited. The company's European website gives another origin of the name, saying the name comes from the Spanish words san ('holy') and río ('river'). Tsuji hired his own designers to create characters for Sanrio, so as to not have to pay outside royalty fees . The first original Sanrio character, Coro Chan ,
3864-539: The court battle, the two companies announced that they would donate the legal fees to help the earthquake victims. In Bruna's hometown, Utrecht , there is a square named after nijntje, the Nijntjepleintje (lit: Little Nijntje Square, to retain the rhyme) and in 2006, the Centraal Museum opened a permanent exhibition, the dick bruna huis (Dick Bruna house). Miffy celebrated her fiftieth birthday in 2005. This
3948-443: The creation of Hello Kitty by Sanrio in 1974. The kawaii aesthetic is characterized by soft or pastel colors, rounded shapes, and features which evoke vulnerability, such as big eyes and small mouths, and has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture , influencing entertainment (including toys and idols ), fashion (such as Lolita fashion ), advertising, and product design. The word kawaii originally derives from
4032-406: The development of cute handwriting (which he called Anomalous Female Teenage Handwriting) in depth. This type of cute Japanese handwriting has also been called: marui ji ( 丸い 字 ) , meaning "round writing", koneko ji ( 子猫 字 ) , meaning "kitten writing", manga ji ( 漫画 字 ) , meaning "comic writing", and burikko ji ( 鰤 子 字 ) , meaning "fake-child writing". Although it was commonly thought that
4116-419: The dunes, while on holiday at Egmond aan Zee . Miffy became a female after Bruna decided that he wanted to draw a dress and not trousers on his rabbit. At first Miffy looked like a toy animal with floppy ears, but by 1963, her design was changed to her current incarnation, a stylized form of a rabbit. Miffy is drawn in a graphic style, with minimalist black graphic lines. Bruna chose to only use black, white,
4200-450: The early 1990s under the name Character Soft . Kawaii Kawaii ( Japanese : かわいい or 可愛い , [kawaiꜜi] ; "cute" or "adorable") is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness , childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. Kawaii culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime (comics and animation) and merchandise , exemplified by
4284-551: The early 1990s, an image of Miffy holding an adjustable spanner coyly behind her back appeared on flyers produced by people taking direct action against the UK government's road building program. This unauthorised use of the character spread and Miffy became a mascot for groups involved in radical ecological direct action. Miffy appeared in her first TV show in 1984, called Dick Bruna's Miffy Storybook Classics: The Original Series . Directed by veteran animator Gene Deitch , each episode
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#17328484499264368-569: The economic powers in the world. Kawaii has developed from a few children's television shows to an Internet sensation. Japanese media is used so abundantly in Singapore that youths are more likely to imitate the fashion of their Japanese idols, learn the Japanese language, and continue purchasing Japanese oriented merchandise. The East Asian countries including China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand either produce kawaii items for international consumption or have websites that cater for kawaii as part of
4452-435: The expectations of kawaii , and thus did not do well in the Japanese market. For example, Cabbage Patch Kids dolls did not sell well in Japan, because the Japanese considered their facial features to be "ugly" and "grotesque" compared to the flatter and almost featureless faces of characters such as Hello Kitty. Also, the doll Barbie , portraying an adult woman, did not become successful in Japan compared to Takara's Licca ,
4536-409: The fashion trends of Japanese youth, especially in high school girls. Japanese kawaii seemingly operates as a center of global popularity due to its association with making cultural productions and consumer products "cute". This mindset pursues a global market, giving rise to numerous applications and interpretations in other cultures. The dissemination of Japanese youth fashion and "kawaii culture"
4620-515: The first and only Sanrio-licensed eatery (Sanrio Cafe) in the U.S. opened at Pearlridge 's Downtown phase in Aiea, Hawaii . In 2004, Sanrio Co. Ltd., expanded its license to one of its major licensee and plush suppliers Nakajima USA to include the owning and operating of all Sanrio branded stores in the US, overseeing the relationships between individual licensed stores and supplying all categories of products for
4704-525: The former Japanese aesthetics of "beautiful" and "refined". As a cultural phenomenon, cuteness is increasingly accepted in Japan as a part of Japanese culture and national identity. Tomoyuki Sugiyama ( 杉山奉文 , Sugiyama Tomoyuki ) , author of Cool Japan , believes that "cuteness" is rooted in Japan's harmony-loving culture, and Nobuyoshi Kurita ( 栗田経惟 , Kurita Nobuyoshi ) , a sociology professor at Musashi University in Tokyo , has stated that "cute"
4788-546: The games are: Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue , Hello Kitty: Birthday Adventures , and Hello Kitty Seasons . Hello Kitty Island Adventure (2023) is a new Sanrio game created for IOS platforms and is only available through the Apple Arcade subscription. Sanrio publishes many books featuring its own characters. It also publishes art books (for instance, those by Keibun Ōta ). Sanrio publishes books in many languages, including Japanese and English. Sanrio published video games in
4872-405: The increasing ratio of young Japanese girls that view themselves as kawaii , there is a possibility that "from early childhood, Japanese people are socialized into the expectation that women must be kawaii. " The idea of kawaii can be tricky to balance – if a woman's interpretation of kawaii seems to have gone too far, she is then labeled as burikko , "a woman who plays bogus innocence." In
4956-658: The last word of the second line rhymes with the last of the fourth. They are written about things that children can understand, and situations they will face such as going to the hospital and going to school, and they always have a happy ending. Some books have no text at all, such as Miffy's Dream . The books are printed in small format. Bruna considers it important that his audience feels that his books are there for them, not for their parents. Most Miffy books have an advisory reading level of age four to eight years. Bruna's books have been translated into more than 50 different languages, and over 85 million copies have been sold all over
5040-587: The main attraction for the new partnership in celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. In October 2023, the fifth series was announced and will premiere in 2025 on Canal+ in France. It will be produced by StudioCanal , Mercis and Superprod Animation. This series will also feature the debut of Miffy's younger brother, Bun. It was images of Miffy that helped Dutch police track down sex offender Roberts Mikelson in
5124-553: The penguin Bad Badtz-Maru from 1993, the white dog Cinnamoroll from 2001, the black rabbit Kuromi from 2005, the animal series Jewelpet from 2008, the egg character Gudetama from 2013, and the red panda Aggressive Retsuko from 2015. Notable designers of Sanrio characters include Yuko Shimizu , original designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi , lead designer for most of Hello Kitty's history and Miyuki Okumura , original designer of Cinnamoroll. Since 1986 Sanrio has held
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#17328484499265208-452: The phrase 顔映し kao hayushi , which literally means "(one's) face (is) aglow," commonly used to refer to flushing or blushing of the face. The second morpheme is cognate with -bayu in mabayui (眩い, 目映い, or 目映ゆい) "dazzling, glaring, blinding, too bright; dazzlingly beautiful" ( ma- is from 目 me "eye") and -hayu in omohayui (面映ゆい) "embarrassed/embarrassing, awkward, feeling self-conscious/making one feel self-conscious" ( omo-
5292-599: The positivity, innocence, and lightheartedness associated with the kawaii style. It also includes toys and multicolor clothes. Decora and Fairy Kei have some crossover. Fairy Kei is a youthful style based on 1980s fashion that evokes a dreamy, nostalgic feeling. Outfits are made up of pastel colors, angels, toys and generally cute motifs and elements and accessories from Western toy lines of the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Polly Pocket , My Little Pony , Strawberry Shortcake , Rainbow Brite , Popples , Lady Lovely Locks , Barbie , Wuzzles , and Care Bears . Pastel-colored hair
5376-443: The power of cute merchandise and sent three 18-year-old women overseas in 2018 in the hopes of spreading Japanese culture around the world. The women dress in uniforms and maid costumes that are commonplace in Japan. Kawaii manga and magazines have brought tremendous profit to the Japanese press industry. Moreover, the worldwide revenue from the computer game and its merchandising peripherals are closing in on $ 5 billion, according to
5460-504: The primary colours (red, yellow, and blue), green, orange, brown, and grey. It is his use of primarily primary colors that makes Miffy instantly recognisable, and also popular with preschoolers, because of her bright and intense simplistic colours. Almost 32 Miffy titles have been published and many more for the other characters. Bruna has produced a total of 124 picture books for children. The Miffy books each contain twelve pages of story. Each page has one illustration and four lines of verse,
5544-466: The production of TV and direct-to-video animation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, starting with the US-made Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater in 1987. The character My Melody got her first starring role in an animated series in the anime television series, Onegai My Melody , which first aired on TV Osaka on April 3, 2005, and was produced by Studio Comet . The Sugarbunnies franchise
5628-505: The public. For example: Cute can be also used to describe a specific fashion sense of an individual, and generally includes clothing that appears to be made for young children, apart from the size, or clothing that accentuates the cuteness of the individual wearing the clothing. Ruffles and pastel colors are commonly (but not always) featured, and accessories often include toys or bags featuring anime characters. There have been occasions on which popular Western products failed to meet
5712-501: The retail stores in the US and wholesale accounts. Sanrio hosts two theme parks in Japan, Sanrio Puroland in Tama, Tokyo , and Harmonyland in Hiji , Ōita , Kyūshū . Sanrio has created over 450 characters as of 2022, the best known of which is the white cat character Hello Kitty from 1974. Other well-known characters include the pink rabbit My Melody from 1975, the frog Keroppi from 1988,
5796-579: The rights to the Miffy character are not sold. Miffy's Adventures Big and Small premiered 2 October 2015. It currently has a total of six seasons. It airs on the Nick Jr. Channel in the USA. On 16 February 2017, Dick Bruna died at the age of 89. In 2021, Miffy collaborated with Converse to capsule menswear collection in the Netherlands to celebrate the creator of Miffy, Dick Bruna. In December 2022, Tommy Hilfiger announced its new collection with Miffy as
5880-492: The rise of cute idols, such as Seiko Matsuda , who is largely credited with popularizing the style. Women began to emulate Seiko Matsuda and her cute fashion style and mannerisms, which emphasized the helplessness and innocence of young girls. The market for cute merchandise in Japan used to be driven by Japanese girls between 15 and 18 years old. Soichi Masubuchi ( 増淵宗一 , Masubuchi Sōichi ) , in his work Kawaii Syndrome , claims "cute" and "neat" have taken precedence over
5964-541: The sandals. He began using existing cartoon characters for his merchandise. In the late 1960s the company began producing goods with the dog character Snoopy , from the American comic strip Peanuts , after acquiring the Japanese licensing rights. In 1973 the company was officially established under the name Sanrio. In the book Kore ga Sanrio no Himitsu Desu ( これがサンリオの秘密です ) or These are Sanrio's Secrets Tsuji, Sanrio's founder, said that Yamanashi ( 山梨 ) , part of
6048-412: The suffix -rashii "-like, -ly") are used in modern dialects to mean "embarrassing/embarrassed, shameful/ashamed" or "good, nice, fine, excellent, superb, splendid, admirable" in addition to the 11th-centurynings of "adorable" and "pitiable." In the 1970s, the popularity of the kawaii aesthetic inspired a style of writing. Many teenage girls contributed to the development of this style; the handwriting
6132-516: The target audience. Taiwanese culture , the government in particular, has embraced and elevated kawaii to a new level of social consciousness. The introduction of the A-Bian doll was seen as the development of a symbol to advance democracy and assist in constructing a collective imagination and national identity for Taiwanese people. The A-Bian dolls are kawaii likeness of sports figure, famous individuals, and now political figures that use kawaii images as
6216-408: The title role. Four television series based on the character have been produced: Dick Bruna's Miffy Storybook Classics from 1984; Miffy: Colors, Numbers, and Shapes from 1996; Miffy and Friends from 2003; and Miffy's Adventures Big and Small from 2015. Miffy was created in 1953 after Bruna had been telling his one-year-old son, Sierk, stories about a little rabbit they had seen earlier in
6300-618: The world. It is also translated in dialects, including in Zeelandic by Engel Reinhoudt . Dick Bruna has won many awards for his books, such as the Golden Brush in 1990, for Boris Bear and the Silver Brush for Miffy In The Tent in 1996. In 1997, he was awarded the Silver Slate for Dear Grandma Bunny , a book where Miffy's grandmother was sick and died. The other characters that appear in
6384-404: The writing style was something that teenagers had picked up from comics , Kazuma found that teenagers had created the style themselves, spontaneously, as part of an ‘underground trend’. His conclusion was based on the observation that cute handwriting predates the availability of the technical means for producing rounded writing in comics. Usage of Kawaii in Japanese is general and can be used in
6468-404: The writing very difficult to read. As a result, this writing style caused a lot of controversy and was banned in many schools. During the 1980s, however, this new "cute" writing was adopted by magazines and comics and was often key to packaging and advertising products, especially toys for children or “cute accessories”. From 1984 to 1986, Kazuma Yamane ( 山根一眞 , Yamane Kazuma ) studied
6552-427: The youth culture in their country. Kawaii has taken on a life of its own, spawning the formation of kawaii websites, kawaii home pages, kawaii browser themes and finally, kawaii social networking pages. While Japan is the origin and Mecca of all things kawaii, artists and businesses around the world are imitating the kawaii theme. Kawaii has truly become "greater" than itself. The interconnectedness of today's world via
6636-453: Was introduced in 1973. Hello Kitty was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974 and the first related merchandise was released the following year. The popular feline whose mouth is usually invisible has had both peaks and drops in sales over the years but always has been the highest contributor to Sanrio's sales. Sanrio constantly adds new characters to its lineup. Specific characters are rotated in and out of active production. For
6720-446: Was later adapted into a 7-minute short series in 2007 and was popular enough to gain two sequels. Jewelpet was also adapted into an anime metaseries in 2009, which was also produced by Studio Comet, spanning 6 official seasons and one theatrical movie, making it the longest-running anime adaptation of a Sanrio franchise in history. Show by Rock!! , a game by Sanrio and Geechs got an anime adaptation produced by Bones in 2015 - and
6804-416: Was licensed in the United States by Funimation . Aggretsuko also get three animated adaptations by Fanworks, one aired on TBS and the later two were released officially on Netflix . A few children's variety shows by Sanrio aired on TV Tokyo. Sanrio Digital produces and publishes digital content based on Sanrio intellectual property assets like Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz Maru and many others. Among
6888-447: Was made by writing laterally, often while using mechanical pencils . These pencils produced very fine lines, as opposed to traditional Japanese writing that varied in thickness and was vertical. The teenage girls would also write in big, round characters and add little pictures to their writing, such as hearts, stars, emoticon faces, and letters of the Latin alphabet. These pictures made
6972-548: Was marked in cities across the globe, for example, at the Manchester Art Gallery in England. She also serves a "celebrity character spokesperson" for UNICEF . Miffy's namesakes include a new species of booklouse from Peru . The insect was given the scientific name Trichadenotecnum miffy in 2008, because its epiproct, an appendage on its abdomen, resembles a small rabbit. In July 2014, Bruna announced his retirement;
7056-698: Was traditionally animated and ran for approximately five minutes. The show aired in the Netherlands on KRO , in the United Kingdom on ITV , in Canada on TVOntario in Australia on ABC , and in the USA on Cartoon Network's Small World block with VHS releases from Geneon USA, episodes of the show were later included as Bonus Features on Miffy and Friends DVDs. From 2003 to 2007, Miffy and Friends aired on children's television channels such as Treehouse in Canada, and Noggin in
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