51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Tag - kawaii

 
Menu
Search
 
July 25, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

KAWAII

Sanrio characters Kuromi (left) and My Melody star as rival bakers in a big contest in Netflix¡¯s ¡°My Melody & Kuromi.¡± When mystical forces threaten their world, the pair team up to find a solution.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Aug 27, 2025
From foil to fan favorite, Kuromi embodies Sanrio¡¯s darker side of cute
Once My Melody¡¯s mischievous antagonist, Kuromi is now outshining her pastel-pink counterpart, with a rebellious personality that resonates with today¡¯s audiences.
Originally debuting on a coin purse, Hello Kitty became a national phenomenon in Japan and is now the second highest-grossing media franchise worldwide.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2024
Hello Kitty looks pretty at 50 (and is worth more than ever)
Kitty¡¯s broad appeal, especially to adults, helped popularize the Japanese concept of kawaii (cuteness), which has since become a global trend.
A Hello Kitty fan poses with a costumed character at the Sanrio Smile Shop on its opening day at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. Hello Kitty marks its 50th anniversary on Nov. 1.
CULTURE
Oct 30, 2024
The ¡®CEO of supercute¡¯: Hello Kitty turns 50
She is the undeniable queen of kawaii culture in Japan ¡ª?and her likeness continues to make billions for her creators at Sanrio.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024
Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat¡¯s meow be?
The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Cute characters like Pikachu are deeply ingrained in Japanese culture. The global reach of kawaii has contributed to Japan's soft power and international appeal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2024
What does the global power of kawaii say about us?
Kawaii is one of Japan¡¯s greatest cultural exports. But cuteness is more than just a fad or a commercial success story: It¡¯s part of our evolution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 16, 2021
Kawaii, but make it subversive: Japan¡¯s latest fashion is more than its frills
The country¡¯s over-20s are embracing cute clothing in a subversive push against adulthood.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 3, 2017
Wonder Woman doesn¡¯t need the kawaii treatment
If they did it to Cutie Honey and Fujiko Mine, they can do it to Wonder Woman. I¡¯m talking about the kawaii treatment, which works like a kiss of death to bad-ass super-heroines in Japanese pop culture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2017
Facebook¡¯s Zuckerberg suing to gain rights to Kauai hideaway over undocumented heirs
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has launched a raft of lawsuits that could see the U.S. billionaire secure full ownership of his island hideaway from local Hawaiian families who retain rights over the land dating back generations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 27, 2016
Japan¡¯s cult brands get into character
When the topic turns to ¡°Cool Japan¡± and the various related efforts to capitalize on Japan¡¯s indubitable cultural capital internationally, commendation ¡ª or more frequently the lack thereof ¡ª is easy to come by. The question of how Japan markets its own culture domestically, however, is a largely...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2015
Former Line CEO¡¯s new venture aims to track the pulse of world fashion with smartphone videos
Having already spent time in the limelight as the CEO of Line Corp., Akira Morikawa has now started a new venture that targets would-be fashionistas and connoisseurs of popular culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 7, 2015
From Kyary Pamyu Pamyu to Emoda, Japanese fashion aims to be accessible
Emoda¡¯s student style
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Aug 15, 2015
AKB48 turns to an American studio
AKB48¡¯s? commercial success in Japan is often derided as a sign of the culture¡¯s patriarchal infantilization of women, and the girl group¡¯s inability to appeal to Western audiences a sign of Japan¡¯s increasingly isolated ideas about femininity, sexuality and pop music. Put simply: outside of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 18, 2015
Project Anime asks the right questions
More than 90,000 attended the 24th annual Anime Expo (AX), North America¡¯s largest Japanese pop culture convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2 to 5. The four-day event featured a concert by idol group Momoiro Clover Z, who were joined onstage by two members of veteran American...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 20, 2015
Can #socialmedia boost music sales in Japan?
Last week, Line Corp.¡¯s, the operators of Japan¡¯s most popular messaging app, launched an in-app music streaming service called Line Music. Japan is the second-largest music market in the world after the United States, but its consumers have so far been global outliers, clinging to physical products...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 9, 2015
Catch the last day of Harajuku Kawaii!!; Undercover is going mad; Ultraman for the everyman
Catch the last day of Harajuku Kawaii!!
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2015
¡®Kawaii: Cute Girls in Ukiyo-e¡¯
March 1-26
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Oct 18, 2014
Cute has no bounds
A male teacher wearing a nectie stands among female students in a college elevator.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2014
¡®Jakuchu¡¯s Adorability and Shoen¡¯s Beauty: Kawaii in Japanese Art¡¯
Appreciation in Japanese culture of that particular form of attractiveness now known as kawaii (cute) can be traced back in literature to the 10th-century collection of musings known as ¡°Makura no Soshi¡± (¡°The Pillow Book¡°), in which author Sei Shonagan fetes the ¡°beauty¡± of small children and sparrow...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 16, 2013
Kawaii!! Japan¡¯s Culture of Cute
Kawaii!! Japan¡¯s Culture of Cute; Manami Okazaki & Geoff Johnson; PRESTEL
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 2, 2013
Let¡¯s talk 100 percent kawaii!
Long before the mayor of Shibuya announced pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu as an official ambassador of kawaii culture, Sebastian Masuda, her art director, had been on a mission to spread ¡°kawaii culture¡± across the world, advocating it as not only a potent source of Japan¡¯s emerging soft power, but also...
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Japan to set up expert working group on accepting foreign nationals
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a meeting of ministers responsible for policies concerning foreign residents, held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Head of Swiss euthanasia firm dies after collapsing while ascending Mount Fuji
Around 200,000 people typically scale the 3,776 meter Mount Fuji each year.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Japan to set up expert working group on accepting foreign nationals
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a meeting of ministers responsible for policies concerning foreign residents, held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Inside Toho Archive¡¯s mission to save Japan¡¯s cinematic memory
The goal of restoration is not to artificially upscale but to return the film to the condition it was in ¡°the very first day it appeared in the world,¡± says Nobushige Toshima, president and sales division manager of Toho Archive.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE 51³Ô¹ÏÍø

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER