Everybody who is really, really into Hello Kitty knows her name is Kitty White. Ditto for this: according to her official Sanrio biography, she was born in London, making her British by default, no? So whatâs the big deal?
https://lastchance.cc/can-anyone-replace-hello-kitty-5821481%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
According to an Atlantic Wire piece by Tokyo Vice writer Jake Adelstein, Tatsuya Nakajima, a leader of the right-wing group Junshinkai, was ticked off by the assumption that Hello Kitty was not Japanese, saying, âThatâs the kind of stuff the Chinese say when they pirate our national treasures and goods. Itâs outrageous. And unforgivable.â
Of course, designer Yuko Shimizu created Hello Kitty in Japan in the early 1970sâthough, thereâs been dispute that it rips off Miffy
https://lastchance.cc/no-two-cartoon-rabbits-are-the-same-except-these-ones-5685093%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
In 2008, the cat was even named Japanâs âOfficial Tourism Ambassadorâ. However, Hello Kittyâs official profile contended that the character lived in London with her family. SoâŠshouldnât she be a tourism ambassador for the U.K.?
In Adelsteinâs tongue-in-cheek piece, he and co-writer Nathalie-Kyoto Stucky note that a recent book Hello Kittyâs Guide to Japan, complicates questions of the cartoon catâs nationality further as it underscores the feline as Japaneseânot British. From the piece:
According to their story, Hello Kitty is introducing Japan to her American boyfriend Dear Daniel. When he arrives, he discovers Kitty living in a tatami-mat laden house. Her entire family lives in Japan and they all can read Japanese and speak the language fluently. Kitty is so knowledgeable about Japanese culture and traditions that the reader can only surmise she is either Japanese or an amazingly bilingual Japanese studies scholar.
Maybe the cat is a dual citizen? There, argument settled. Phew!
Kitten-Sized Controversy: Is Hello Kitty from London or Japan? [The Atlantic Wire]
(Top photo: Koji Sasahara | AP)
