Cuteness in Japanese Culture Aka Kawaii Culture By Group 2

 Kawaii in Japanese literally means lovable, cute or adorable.  Since the 70’s, “cuteness” or Kawaii has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture. What is Kawaii?

 Popular culture includes entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms.  Women and men alike act “cute” which is totally acceptable and expected in their culture. Japanese Popular Culture

 During the Shogunate period, women came to be described as Kawaii as the perception of women from being animalistic became replaced with the conception of women as docile.  Kawaii also emerged and developed in teenage girls’ handwriting and fashion. In History

 Because of the growing cute trend, Sanrio released Hello Kitty which became wildly popular.  Currently, Sanrio’s line of over 50 characters takes in more than $1 billion a year and it remains the most successful company to capitalize on the cute trend. Sanrio

 PIKACHU Popular Cute Characters

Hello Kitty

Tarepanda

Rilakkuma Bear

Doraemon

 As a cultural phenomenon, cuteness is increasingly accepted in Japan as a part of their culture and national identity.  Tomoyuki Sugiyama 杉山奉文 author of “Cool Japan”, believes that “cuteness” is rooted in Japan’s harmony-loving culture, and Nobuyoshi Kurita 栗田経 惟, a sociology professor at Musashi University in Tokyo, has stated that “cute” is a “magic term” that encompasses everything that is acceptable and desirable in Japan. Perception in Japan

Thank you for listening! Sources: Google images