The History of Hello Kitty

Mads Phikamphon

Hello Kitty is an animated cat that was created by Sanrio more than 30 years ago. Since her creation, she has become the most popular of the Sanrio characters and the idol of millions of young females in Asia and everywhere else. Today she appears on thousands of different things ranging from teddy bears over toothbrushes to pink electronics.

Hello Kitty was born on the drawing board of Sanrio in Kobe, Japan in 1974. She was designed by the Sanrio employee Ikuko Shimizu, but later the responsibility for her was given to first Setsuko Yonekubo and later Yuko Yamaguchi. In 1975 did she appear for the on her first item, a small plastic coin purse and soon other small items for young girls followed.

The Hello Kitty items was a big success and started to sell very well. Soon after followed American Sanrio shops with Hello Kitty and other popular characters. The first Sanrio shop in America appeared in 1976. Today there are more than 120 official Sanrio shops and more than 3000 affiliate shops.

A special team at Sanrio lead by Yuko Yamaguchi takes care of Hello Kitty, introduces new designs with her image and removes old designs. Every year thousands of new items appear, while an equal number of old items disappear. Most of the items feature Hello Kitty, but it's also possible to find items with her family and friends.

There are several films, books and more about Hello Kitty and she also have her own fan club. In 1990 did she open her own theme park, Sanrio Puroland, in Japan and there she currently receives around 1.4 million visitors a year. She has even become so popular that she has been named junior ambassador to UNICEF.

Today there seems to be no limitations to the popularity of Hello Kitty. Famous western pop starts and actors have recently started wearing Hello Kitty jewelry, so might easily become in more popular in the coming years. Some of the western pop stars and actors that have been seen with Hello Kitty jewelry include Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz and Paris Hilton. Even famous men like Ricky Martin and Steve Tyler have contributed to Hello Kitty's popularity.