University of Hawai‘i expert on Hello Kitty attributes global icon’s popularity to design, as character celebrates 50 years

Hello Kitty, the iconic cartoon character with a yellow button nose, six whiskers and a bright pink bow, turned 50 years old on Saturday.

Hello Kitty was created by Japanese entertainment company Sanrio in 1974. Since then, she has grown into a beloved global icon, embraced by people of all ages throughout the world.

Christine Yano, professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is a leading expert on Hello Kitty’s cultural impact.

Yano is recognized for her expertise in cultural anthropology and Japanese popular culture. She is author of the 2013 book “Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific” and has studied Hello Kitty for over 25 years.

Yano attributes Hello Kitty’s popularity to her design.

““I can only guess that in talking with many different people, all walks of life is that they make her (Hello Kitty) their own and that’s part of the appeal of the blankness,” she said. “Undeniably cute, but somehow flexible in its spareness of the design.”

Yano in 2014 made international headlines and caused uproar on the internet when she revealed Hello Kitty is not, in fact, a cat: Despite her triangular ears and whiskers, she is a little girl, per since-removed Sanrio art usage guidelines.

Sanrio attempted to clarify the issue in a statement following Yano’s revelation. A company representative claimed “It’s going too far to say that Hello Kitty is not a cat. Hello Kitty is a personification of a cat.”

From lunch boxes to high fashion, Hello Kitty has influenced everything from art to consumer culture, and continues to earn a special place in the hearts of fans young and old.

In Hawai‘i, Yano says there’s even special editions of Hello Kitty, like one that “tans” through summer, which are popular with tourists visiting the islands.