Or, Hello ShortWoman!
Today is the 30th Anniversary of the introduction of Hello Kitty, not to be confused with her actual birthday, which Sanrio insists is November 1. To commemorate the occasion, 30 lucky collectors will have the opportunity to purchase a 3 centimeter high platinum figure of the birthday kitty, adorned with 131 diamonds. The price is a mere 3 Million Yen.
Perhaps this sum is out of your budget. You can still purchase Hello Kitty trinkets ranging from $2 pens to toilet paper to sake sets to televisions. Or maybe you need a USB hub. Perhaps a $1000 Hello Kitty dress for the fashionable Hello Kitty fan in your life.
It is clear that Hello Kitty and Generation X have grown up together. What, you didn’t think this stuff was for little girls, did you? Indeed, you either love her or hate her but nobody can be ambivalent to that much cuteness.
This has helped Sanrio earn revenues of between a Half Billion and a Billion dollars annually, depending whose figures you like (and truth be told, exchange rates). She is a popular icon both in the United States and Japan, where there is even a theme park in her honor. Her rise is documented in the book, “Hello Kitty : The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon.”
If you are looking for a more subdued way to honor Hello Kitty, preferably one that does not involve your purchase of something pink, you might check out the “Jump to Japan” exhibit at The Childrens Museum of Seattle. Press coverage here and here.