Kawaii in Japan Popular Culture

Kawaii is an adjective meaning cute, lovable, or adorable. Since 1970, kawaii in Japan has become a prominent aspect of Japanese pop culture that can be seen on their entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms.

Hello Kitty

Sanrio is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii (cute) segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio's best known character is Hello Kitty, a white cat with red bow and no visible mouth, one of the most successful marketing brands in the world. Besides selling character goods, Sanrio takes part in movie production and publishing. They own the rights to the Peanuts characters in Japan. Their animatronics branch, called Kokoro Company, Ltd. ("Kokoro" being Japanese for "heart"), is best known for the Actroid android. They participate in the fast food industry, running a franchise of KFC in Saitama.

Miffy

Miffy is a small female rabbit in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. Miffy's original Dutch name is Nijntje which stems from a toddler's pronunciation of the word "konijntje" meaning "little rabbit". The first Miffy book was produced in 1955, and almost 30 others have followed. In total they have sold over 85 million copies, and inspired a television series as well as items such as clothes and toys featuring the character. Miffy has been appearing on TV since 2003, in a show named after her that airs on children's television channels such as Treehouse in Canada and Nick Jr. in the U.S. from April 7, 2003 through April 1, 2007. Miffy and Friends moved to public television. The show adds several new characters such as Melanie's African family, as well as the family of Boris' and Barbara's common cousin, Umik.

Pikachu

Pikachu is one of the species of Pokemon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise — a collection of video games, anime, manga books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series. Pikachu is among the most recognizable Pokemon, largely because a Pikachu is a central character in the Pokemon anime series. Pikachu is widely considered the most popular Pokémon, is regarded as the official mascot of the Pokemon franchise, and has become an icon of Japanese culture in recent years. Within the world of the Pokémon franchise, Pikachu are often found in houses, forests, plains, and occasionally near mountains, islands, and electrical sources (such as power plants), on most continents throughout the fictional world. As an electric-type Pokémon, Pikachu can store electricity in its cheeks and release it in lightning-based attacks.