why is Hello Kitty such a phenomenom in japan?

Question

i can't see what's so great about Hello Kitty. some people go crazy for the bloody cat. there's so many Hello Kitty merchandises... even a car.

"Mitsubishi Motor Corp's Hello Kitty special edition vehicle 'PrincessKitty i' is displayed at the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, Japan. The limited edition car is price at Yen 2.1 million (US$17,980)." (The Jakarta Post, Indonesia)

Answer 1

Hello Kitty is part of the "kawaii" or cute culture in Japan that gained popularity in 1970's during the beginning of Japan's huge economic uprising Japanese women became servants to their husbands who brought home the bacon but rarely saw their kids. Moving from the countrysides to the cities, women wanted comfort, and Hello Kitty and other "cute characters", with their soft features and homespun stories, were just the kind of nurturing creatures to help them escape the hostile, industrialized urban world. Hello Kitty's international appeal is because Hello Kitty appears asexual and seems to have no obvious ethnicity----and yes as stated before it is true that she has no mouth to represent the strife of a Japanese woman's inability to have a voice in their society.

Answer 2

In Japan, the women are not required to 'grow up' they can love being childish and enjoying things like hello kitty without being looked down upon. Hello Kitty is one of those timeless advertising things that changes with the culture but doesn't really become 'uncool'. Just like Mickey the Rat over here :)

Answer 3

Well, I grew up with Hello Kitty phenomenon.

Hello Kitty toys are a rage when I was a little girl and i lurvve the colours. Those pinks and greens and of course , its associated with a lovable animal which is the cat. Any collectibles is cuteee whether pencil case, pencils, notepads, notebooks, stationery, etc. I had those collection when I was young.

Now, I'm still crazy over those toys because it brought back my
highschool memories when my world is just simple. Now, they are mere mementoes of my past.

Answer 4

Hello Kitty has been around for as long as I can remember...maybe its not so much for "hello kitty" but the merchandise of her is really cute...example the pencils, pencil sharpeners, pencil boxes, stickers, keychains, stuffed toys, garbage bins, etc...they're really cute....there are even lots of types of hello kitty dolls....hello kitty as a bride, as an astronaut, as a doctor, etc etc....and the phone keychains and keyrings are also cute....but wow! i didn't know there was a Hello Kitty car!! plus, most of it is pink, and girls adore pink....i don't think that Hello Kitty is cute, but the merchandise is....like you said, there are so many Hello Kitty merchandises....and if something is famous, it has a big impact on the thoughts of people.....

Answer 5

Their passion for hello kitty has to do with the Japanese societal ideal known as "kawaii". This ideal places a great emphasis on "innocence" and "purity" as traits in people, and hello kitty is part of the "innocent" aspect of that. The qualities found in children are highly prized by societal Japan.
If you would like to learn more about things like this, there is an incredible book called "The Japanese Have a Word for it" by Boye Lafayette De Mente (my partner brought it back from a bookstore on one of his travels). It is *well* worth reading if you want to understand Japanese culture and thought.

Answer 6

Hello Kitty has no mouth to symbolize how women have no voice in Japan, or at least that's what a feminist told me. My personal favorite is the Hello Kitty vibrator.

Answer 7

It's not just the Japanese that's crazy about Kitty....places like Singapore almost had people trampled at McDonald's for the Hello Kitty toys.

Answer 8

Because the Japanese love "cute." It is crazy. Cute is very popular in Japan. Hello Kitty is cute, hence the craze.

Answer 9

What do you think the Japanese say about Mickey Mouse? I prefer Hello Kitty. She is cuter and it not a freakin infested rat.

Answer 10

because Hello Kitty is cute