Hello Kitty was cautiously designed & made in Japan.
Although it was made in Japan, it was designed to be British. Hello Kitty was actually a fictional character that was first introduced in Tokyo.
Hello Kitty’s owner brand had set up an operation in Hong Kong and China. It is enormously popular in the Asian region and especially among Chinese people.
According to the sources, it was revealed online in 2014 that Hello Kitty was not a cat, it was a little girl. The designer had portrayed her as a female white Japanese bobtail cat.
When was Hello Kitty made?
Hello Kitty was made in 1974. But, it first appeared and sold in Japan on a Vinyl coin purse in 1975.
Later, Hello Kitty was marketed in the United States in 1976. It sold well after making its debut in the American markets. The manufacturing brand had opened a gift card store in San Jose, California.
There they introduced Hello Kitty in front of consumers for sales. Within a couple of years, it became popular with the kawaii culture.
In 1983, Hello Kitty became the children’s ambassador of UNICEF to the USA. Besides, in 1994, it became the children’s ambassador in Japan as well.
Although they marketed Hello Kitty toward children, later they include teenagers & adults in their target markets for sales. Thus they broadened their selling ratio early in the 2000s.
Why does Hello Kitty not have a mouth?
We have found a couple of reasons why Hello Kitty has no mouth. As per the explanation of Sanrio, Hello Kitty does not have a mouth because she speaks from the heart.
In addition, Sanrio also explains that Hello Kitty has no mouth, so that, people can share their emotions together with Hello Kitty in any situation.
The designers wanted to make Hello Kitty’s emotions ambiguous to us. When we are happy, Hello Kitty looks smiling. On the other hand, Hello Kitty looks sad at the time of our grief.
So it can be said that its expression is changed with people’s thoughts so that they can project their feelings onto the character easily.
Who created Hello Kitty?
Yuko Shimizu created the fictional character Hello Kitty. She is a well-known Japanese designer.
She designed the original Hello Kitty in 1974 for the Sanrio company. Shimizu not only designed Hello Kitty but also Coro Chan. After graduation, she joined Sanrio as a designer and got immense popularity for designing Hello Kitty.
Besides, she has also created Angel Cat Sugar & Rebecca Bonbon. The 76 years old lady designer published some picture books along with her design career.
Although Yuko Shimizu did not earn much money, she became one of the most successful artists after launching her creation “Hello Kitty” in Japan.
Is Hello Kitty American or Japanese?
Actually, Hello Kitty is a Japanese-made fictional character. But it is designed to be British. So, Hello Kitty is not an American.
It is mainly a staple of Japanese pop culture. According to its backstory, this fictional character lived in a London suburb and appeared in the USA in 1976.
However, Hello Kitty was a commodity in Asian enclaves including Chinatowns. The designer created it as a British character because Japanese people were highly-obsessed at that time with foreign countries.
Hello Kitty was made & marketed by a Japanese merchandise company and spread internationally. So, Hello Kitty is Japanese & beloved in other countries, not more than in Japan.
Who is Hello Kitty’s boyfriend?
Dear Daniel is the boyfriend of Hello Kitty. Daniel Starr is his real name. It is also a fictional character just like Hello Kitty.
Dear Daniel is a Japanese-made male bobtail cat that is specially created as her boyfriend. Sanrio created this male fictional character and marketed it globally.
Sanrio described Dear Daniel as the childhood friend of Hello Kitty. In addition, the Japanese company described, he became her boyfriend later.
According to the sources, Tuxedo Sam was created to be the boyfriend of Hello Kitty in 1979. But he was replaced with Daniel Starr.
Tuxedo Sam also known as “Peter Penguin,” is a fictional penguin character & it is made by Sanrio. By the way, he is widely popular as one of the good friends of Hello Kitty.
Sources:
- https://daxueconsulting.com/hello-kitty-in-china/ – Manufacturer of Hello Kitty.
- https://goodyfeed.com/the-two-main-reasons-why-hello-kitty-has-no-mouth/ – The reasons why Hello Kitty has no mouth.
- https://sanrio.fandom.com/wiki/Tuxedo_Sam- Hello Kitty’s boyfriend.
