Sanrio & Hello Kitty
The Japanese empire of kawaii, led by a little cat turned global icon.
On the mapTokyo
- Founded
- 1960
- Founder
- Shintaro Tsuji
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Hello Kitty created
- 1974 (by Yuko Shimizu)
- Aesthetic
- Kawaii (cute)
Sanrio is the Japanese company behind Hello Kitty and dozens of other cute characters. Founded in 1960, the firm built its fortune on a simple idea: pairing endearing little characters with everyday objects, from coin purses to writing paper. It is the matrix of the "kawaii" (cute) aesthetic, one of Japan's major cultural exports.
Created in 1974 and unveiled the following year, Hello Kitty became one of the most profitable licensed characters in history. Around her orbits a whole universe of figures: My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin and Gudetama, the lazy egg.
From silk to characters
Sanrio was founded in 1960 by Shintaro Tsuji as the Yamanashi Silk Company. The firm first sold silk products before turning to gift items decorated with small drawings. Tsuji noticed that goods adorned with cute motifs sold far better, and the brand made this its specialty.
The name Sanrio was adopted in 1973. The Hello Kitty character, drawn by Yuko Shimizu, appeared in 1974 on a coin purse. Its immediate success launched a dynasty of characters that Sanrio has since applied to thousands of products worldwide.
Did you know?
Hello Kitty has an official full name: Kitty White. According to the profile imagined by Sanrio, she was born in London, is as tall as five apples and weighs three apples. In 2014 the brand caused a stir by clarifying that she is not a cat but a little girl, a statement that drew much comment.
Sanrio is not limited to merchandise: the company runs theme parks in Japan, including Sanrio Puroland near Tokyo, and holds a closely watched annual vote for the fans' favorite character, the Sanrio Character Ranking.