The Beginning of Kawaii

Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, mounted this exhibition at Tokyo City View, an observation deck on the 52nd floor.

The exhibition was held to celebrate Sanrio’s 60th anniversary.

The largest exhibition in Sanrio’s history, it featured over 800 items displayed on an observation deck 250 meters high.

I thought the exhibition would cover the broad history of kawaii in Japan, but it was almost entirely about Sanrio characters, especially Hello Kitty.

Close-up view of Sebastian Masuda’s Hello Kitty themed artwork

The artist Sebastian Masuda was influential in the Harajuku kawaii fashion scene. He designed the look of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s early videos and the interior of the (now sadly closed) Kawaii Monster Cafe. He used to DJ there, too!

Tokyo City View is a popular tourist attraction, but most people seemed to be there to see Hello Kitty and friends.

Rune Naito’s popular 1971 character “Rune Panda.”

The exhibition did feature a few non-Sanrio characters. The artist and illustrator Rune Naito (1932-2007) was extremely influential in the development of the kawaii aesthetic. He designed this character after seeing pandas at the London zoo. A year later a Tokyo zoo obtained the first pandas in Japan, sparking a nationwide frenzy for the cute bears. Naito’s Rune Panda was already in production and swept the country. Hello Kitty arrived a few years later.

This dress was one of a series of Hello Kitty themed outfits that Lady Gaga wore for a photo shoot. Apparently, the Hello Kitty’s were held up in UK customs and the entire dress was put together with hot glue and staples in just two hours.