9 Lives And Counting: Hello Kitty Turns 40
Hello Kitty is celebrating a big birthday this year. In the time since the first simple coin purse was sold in Japan back in 1974, Hello Kitty has become a multibillion-dollar empire — $8 billion worth of products bearing her image sold internationally in 2013. The Japanese company that created the cartoon cat now oversees the production of products ranging from backpacks to lunchboxes to picture books.
A carefully curated survey of goods from the last four decades — as well as Hello Kitty-inspired art — make up a Hello Kitty retrospective at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
"I'm on cuteness overload right now," says Hello Kitty-clad museum-goer Julia Boyd (who had just seen Hello Kitty toilet paper for the very first time).
Lots of the women here say Hello Kitty conjures up fond childhood memories of happiness and cheer that they cling to today. But Hello Kitty isn't just about nostalgia; she has also played a serious role as an ambassador.
"We have to think back to a period of time when things that were culturally Japanese were not cool — in fact, when there was a lot of anti-Japanese and anti-Asian sentiment," says Greg Kimura, director of the Japanese American National Museum. "... When Hello Kitty entered the scene, she was immediately adopted by young girls because they sensed in her this connection to Japanese and Asian cultural idiom."
Growing up in Southern California, Kristin Yamuchi was one of those girls. Today, she's enchanted by the Hello Kitty-inspired artworks on display. Standing beside a 12-foot-tall statue by depicting Hello Kitty as Cleopatra, she's in awe. When asked what she could take home from the exhibit if she could she replied: "Oh my gosh, everything, let's be real."
These enthusiasts don't anticipate their Hello Kitty appreciation will wane in the next 40 years, either.
"I really want the Hello Kitty tombstone for when I eventually depart this earth," says Boyd. "That would sum me up so perfectly. Even when I'm 80 years old, I'm going to like this stuff."
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Transcript
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
If you are a woman of a certain age, you grew up with Hello Kitty, that cartoon cute white and pink cat that seemed to be everywhere - backpacks, lunchboxes, you name it. The Japanese company that created Hello Kitty now oversees a multi-billion dollar kitty empire. And it may be hard to believe, but the global marketing phenom turns 40 years old this year. And to mark the occasion, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles is doing a Hello Kitty retrospective. Lisa Napoli of member station KCRW went to check it out.
LISA NAPOLI, BYLINE: Julia Boyd is so excited as she stands in a gallery filled with Hello Kitty-inspired art. She does a bit of a jig.
JULIA BOYD: I'm on cuteness overload right now.
NAPOLI: Since first adorning a simple coin purse back in Japan in 1974, Hello Kitty has become a cash cow. Eight billion dollars' worth of products bearing her image sold internationally just last year. A carefully curated survey of goods from the last four decades makes up a large part of the show, much to the delight of Hello Kitty clad museum goers like Boyd.
BOYD: Hello Kitty toilet paper I've never before. I thought that really interesting. I really want the Hello Kitty tombstone for when I eventually depart this earth. I think that would just sum me up so perfectly. Even when I'm like 80 years old, I'm still going to like this stuff.
NAPOLI: Lots of the women here - and there are more women than girls - echoed that sentiment. They say Hello Kitty conjures up fond childhood memories of happiness and cheer that they cling to today. But Hello Kitty has played a rather serious role too as an ambassador.
GREG KIMURA: We have to think back to a period of time when things that were culturally Japanese were not cool - in fact, when there was a lot of anti-Japanese and anti-Asian sentiment.
NAPOLI: Greg Kimura is director of the Japanese American National Museum.
KIMURA: So when Hello Kitty entered the scene, she was immediately adopted - and by Asian-American young girls because they sensed in her this connection to a Japanese and an Asian cultural idiom.
NAPOLI: Growing up in Southern California, Kristin Yamuchi was one of those girls. Today, she's more enchanted by the Hello Kitty-inspired artworks on display than the social significance. She's standing beside a 12-foot-tall statue by an Italian artist depicting Hello Kitty as Cleopatra - Kittypatra.
KRISTIN YAMUCHI: With the Tokidoki hieroglyphics on the side, pretty amazing. Yeah.
NAPOLI: If you could take anything here home, which one would you take?
YAMUCHI: Oh, my gosh, everything.
NAPOLI: She has plenty of time to figure it out. The exhibition continues through April. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Napoli in Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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