There are numerous examples of this in manga and anime, where this personality is a main element of the story, from Miyazakis work, through Lain, Ghost in the Shell, to Dragon Ball and Utena. UNICEF even awarded Hello Kitty an exclusive title the UNICEF Special Friend of Children. What are the names of Hello Kittys friends? Her height is described as five apples and her weight as three apples. Here is the real origin story of Hello Kitty. A Sanrio spokesperson told AFP in Tokyo, "It is a 100-percent . 17 Mind Blowing Facts About Mount Rushmore, 7 Conspiracies That Flat Earthers Believe Are True. My Melody: A rabbit wearing a red hood, second in popularity only to Hello Kitty, she even has her own line of products not sold under the Hello Kitty banner. Why does Hello Kitty not have a mouth? The company produces a character line of merchandise around gift giving occasions. The franchise is known in some Japanese-centered cultures as kawaii (literally meaning adorable and cute). For this psychological reason, we thought she shouldn't be tied to any emotion - and that's why she doesn't have a mouth." The power of Hello Kitty's interpretation now extends a layer deeper, beyond our idea of what she represents into our idea of what she is feeling. Shhei, as a translator for the 1862 First Japanese Embassy to Europe, travelled many countries, mainly for political reasons: to delay the opening of more ports in his shell-shocked home country. It is assumed that Hello Kitty was designed without a mouth, alluding to the daughter who had mouth cancer and Kittys pointed ears are attributed to being a representation of the Evil Ones horns. Whats more, if we look at the etymology of the word, we can extract a meaning of smallness, embarrassment and pitifulness this last notion can still be seen in the expression kawais, which is usually used in a derogatory context: Oh, you miserable fool. The bombshell came to light following publicity for an upcoming exhibition on the character at the Japanese American National Museum. Read |Max Ehrich urges fans to 'stop harassing him' & his mother after split with Demi Lovato. In contrast, the Japanese kodomo expression does not carry a negative connotation and means child-like instead of childish. What do you think? The same way that Japan doesnt recognize the western idea of sin, they also do not consider drawn media to be inferior. Read |Demi Lovato's ex Max Ehrich reveals he found out about their break-up via a tabloid. The Simple Reason Why Paper Sizes Have These Exact Dimensions, Heres Why Filipino Is Spelled With An F When Philippines Is Spelled With A Ph, Apple Logo Designer Reveals Why The Logo Has A Bite. The surprising number of different celebrations and rites developed parallelly both on a spiritual and institutional level. Hello Kitty - Wikipedia < The Story behind 'Hello Kitty': Here's the dark theory about its Origin Story. But I will never look at whatever it is the same way again. Then in the eighties, Miyazaki brought the new era of female heroes with his movies. The need for a different viewpoint when it comes to children appeared in the 1870s first. Hello Kitty means: Hello, kitty. This is not to say that cats werent cute before the seventies. This is represented by the ideas present in Japanese literature. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an anthropomorphized white cat with a red bow and no visible mouth. Youll recognize him by his light yellow fur and brown beret. At first glance we notice that Hello Kitty does not have a mouth due to the case of cancer in the mouth of the designers daughter. Japanese designer Yuko Shimizu was heavily influenced by Lewis Carolls Through the Looking Glass and she now works with the Sanrio company, creating other characters such as Chococat, Deary Lou, and Monkichi. Heres Pompompurin, Sanrios lovable golden retriever puppy! Sanrio()2007Hello Kitty Why doesn't Hello Kitty have a mouth? She likes to collect cute things, such as butterflies and her favorite lessons at school are English, music, and art. And even if you did notice it, chances are you dont know the real reason behind it. One avid collector of Licca-chan memorabilia, a woman known as Littlerabi states in an interview that the doll is embedded in the sixties, and even though the dolls produced nowadays are a bit more modern, she collects them because they give her a feeling of nostalgia. According to Screen Rant, the other cute and iconic characters created by Sanrio include Pom Pom Purin, My Melody, Chococat, Aggretsuko and etc. The Untold Truth Of Hello Kitty - Looper The best stories served daily at your email! Sanrio also went on to create many other cute and lovable cartoon characters over the years. According to our calculations, this would be half a meter tall and 680 grams in weight. As bizarre as this theory sounds, the Scary for Kids website, does try to explain it further. Hello Kitty - Breaking News English Lesson - ESL Most of the time she is just a floating head anyway on pillows, purses, press-on nails and everything else. HelloKitty is also the second highest-grossing media franchiseof all time behindPokmon. If you believe something to be incorrect, please leave us a message below. The reason for this is summed up best by Yuko Yamaguchi, the current character designer (meaning "boss") of Hello Kitty: "[She doesn't have a mouth] so that people who look at her can project their own feelings onto her face, because she has an expressionless face Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976.). The truth about how Hello Kitty came to be Instead of making a deal with the devil, Japanese designer Yuko Shimizu created the character in 1974 for the company Sanrio, which has focused on Japanese cute kawaii culture since the early 1960s. Since what then touches their eyes and ears, whether good or bad, makes a deep impression that will not be wiped out until death, this age provides the best opportunity for disciplining their natures and training them in deportment. In the 1960s, they expanded their product line to include items that catered to the gift-giving tradition in Japan usually small, simple objects that can be given to a friend for special occasions, holidays, or even everyday things like visiting their house. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Obviously when a teenage girl in an anime sees a pile of kittens and shouts kawaii!, the best translation is oh, how cute!. For obvious reasons, rite of passage is held at age 20 instead of 12, this is the legal age of adulthood now, but the celebration of it appeared later. Badtz-Maru is one of the few Sanrio characters whose products are sold to both girls and boys. To give you some idea of the price, a typical in-game house costs about $5, not including furniture, which is, of course, sold separately. This is really scary and I will tell this to my sister Jessii, Hello Kitty Background Story Everyone knows the iconic white kitty, Nowadays, digital communication is much more than typing out a, The Terrifying Story about the Origins of Hello Kitty (Hello Kitty Background Story). Badtz-Maru: One of the few Sanrio characters marketed to boys, he's a spiky-haired, rebellious penguin born on April 1. Meet the Cast The cute and kawaii character of 'Hello Kitty' has been a fan favourite for several decades now. Hello Kitty and many other Sanrio characters were designed without a mouth so that the character could take on whatever emotions the viewer needs them to have at the time. The theory clearly sounds very off-kilter. She has been a UNICEF ambassador to the United States since 1983 and to Japan since 1994. The Story behind 'Hello Kitty': Here's the dark theory about its Origin He mainly watches over children who have died too young according to earlier beliefs children did not have the chance to perform enough good acts to earn passage through the river Sanzu (the Japanese equivalent of the Greek river Styx), and so they have to build piles of pebbles on the bank of the river to try and cross to the afterlife. His father is a famous photographer, which means the family has lived all over the world in places like Africa, New York City, and is now back in London. Why Does Hello Kitty Not Have A Mouth - Hello Kitty Eating Ramen These characters represent that spiritual realization, that the perfect state is reached when your full potential as an adult is balanced by pure childish naturality. Most rites of passage are still in practice today, although they may be changed partially or completely. If Sanrio's goal, as curator Christine Yano suggests, is to present Hello Kitty's feline appearance as "a kind of abstraction," then why has Sanrio given us a list of solid details about Kitty's life? On Education. Meiroku Zasshi: Journal of the Japanese Enlightenment. on businessinsider.com, View Kitty does not have a mouth, and Shimizu claims that she does not need one she speaks from the heart, standing for the projection of feelings, unity, and friendship. Japanese toymaker Sanrio have declared that its iconic creation Hello Kitty is not a cat. There's even a Hello Kitty-themed S&M room at one of Japan's love hotels, where Japanese couples can rent a room by the hour for private encounters. Why doesnt hello kitty have a mouth? - Answers Sanrio latched onto this newly popular kawaii culture. 2023 The Fact Network Ltd | All Rights Reserved. According to the "biography" established by Sanrio, Hello Kitty was born in suburban London, where she lives with her parents and her twin sister, Mimmy. According to a 2008 Reuters report, twice a year, people in character costumes come around and entertain patients. She has a round face, black eyes, a yellow nose, no mouth, and a red bow on her left ear. What to Expect from the Drop on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Adam Warlock? I was obsessed with Hello Kitty in the sixth grade, and when I first saw her, I thought she was a cat. In general, the most liked religious figure was Jiz-sama in Japanese culture there is no such thing as a saint, Jiz-sama is a bodhisattva, according to Buddhist teachings an enlightened person, who decides not to leave the circle of life, instead he stays and helps those who suffer. Dear Daniel: Hello Kitty's unofficial boyfriend. Apparently, her 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with mouth cancer. One of her best friends is Dear Daniel (also known as Daniel Starr) and he bought her a pet hamster named Sugar. The word Hello in English means hello, and the word Kitty means kitty. Apparently, her 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with mouth cancer. The kawaii phenomenon is only a few decades old, but it can be traced back on several points to the traditional Japanese beauty ideals. The same logic applies when after a mass shooting in America, tabloid media jumps on the fact that the perpetrator had a gaming system, therefore anyone who ever played a computer game (which amounts to about 70% of the developed worlds population) should be arrested pre-emptively. Despite the popularity of Hello Kitty, I preferred other characters due to one question Why doesnt Hello Kitty have a mouth?. I never thought a simple question like the one inspiring this article could lead down a rabbit hole this deep. Considering this tradition of purity and sanctity ascribed to children, it is not so surprising anymore that child-culture is an integral part of Japanese culture. She is a little girl. Answer #1:Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth because she speaks from the heart.Answer #2:'Hello Kitty' doesn't have a mouth because the producers want people to "project their feelings onto the . Read on to find out the Story behind Hello Kitty. Spokespeople for Sanrio have confirmed that Hello Kitty has no mouth, as they want people to "project their feelings onto the character" and "be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty." So that's what I am going to believe. Hello Kitty (originally named Hi Kitty) first appeared on a bright vinyl coin purse in 1974. Now think about any anime or manga where a characters hair is cut or they cut their own hair for example, any Miyazaki movie is a guaranteed candidate for this scene. Still, Bruna never officially challenged the designs until 2010, when he sued Sanrio for its character, Cathy, a white rabbit that is Hello Kitty's best friend. Contrary to this, Japanese culture regards childhood as an ideal to preserve, one that is lost with time. Hello Kitty at 40: The cat that conquered the world - BBC Culture complete answer on thenorthwestern.com. So why would the manufacturer say Hello Kitty is really a girl? In exchange for her recovery, the parents made a pact with the Devil that they would create a character in Satans honor that would be adored worldwide. kitty hello mouth doesn cartoon cat drawings step name games famous affair casual why cats draw. The character, who even has her own backstory, forms the basis of an endless. In western cultures childish things are embarrassing for adults, who should be concerned with serious adult things. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Sanrio maintains that Hello Kitty is a girl and not a cat, although she displays feline characteristics such as pointed ears, whiskers, and a tail. Cat power. This is the reason why both the beckoning cat (maneki neko) popular from the 19th century, and Hello Kitty have short pom-pom tails. Its not that she doesnt have a mouth; its just that its not drawn. This is all despite the declining number of short-tailed cats since the Second World War, as other cat breeds have been brought into the country. Because she has an expressionless face, Kitty looks happy when people are happy and sad when they are sad. This principal is often played out in Japanese stories, where the old and wise master acts like a child, or an enlightened saint-like character exhibits child-like spontaneity. A giant Kitty statue greet guests in the lobby. For some of these perks, youll need to earn Sanrio Loyalty Points by posting videos, writing blog posts, and completing quizzes on Sanriotown.com. Hello Kitty (Japanese: , Hepburn: Har Kiti), also known by her real name Kitty White (, Kiti Howaito), is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. For example, Fender guitars has featured a Hello Kitty Stratocaster, Neiman Marcus recently carried a collection of Hello Kitty jewelry with a top price of $5,000, Dr. Marten boots is currently selling a line of Sanrio shoes, and there are even Airbus airplanes with her image plastered on the side. Cal Poly State University - San Luis Obispo, California State University - Los Angeles, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, California State University, Channel Islands, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Federal University Of Agriculture Abeokuta, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico San German campus, Keiser University - Latin American Campus, London School of Economics and Political Science, California State University of Sacramento, Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, University of North Carolina - Wilmington, University of South Florida - St. Petersburg, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Kuromi, My Melody, Keroppi, Chococat, and Badtz Maru. On the other hand, there is the emotional freedom, which is in stark contrast with the Barbie-line: Hello Kitty has no predetermined emotional state, because its purpose is to reflect our emotions. You can follow Laurel Dalrymple at facebook.com/laurelmdalrymple. However, we need to look at this word in a wider perspective. In spite of, or even because of this the underground feminist punk movement from the nineties, Riot grrrl put Kitty on their flag, stating that the radical equal rights movement doesnt have to mean excluding anything cute. If we put Barbie and Licca-chan side by side and take into consideration which countries they were successful in, we can see an interesting difference. As the discussion above shows, this character is a product of so many different cultural eras and impressions, it becomes impossible to equate it with one simplified idea.
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