The Darker Side of Japan’s Love of Cuteness

To accompany this essay, three Japanese artists created (and named) seven mascots exclusively for T, all inspired by or representing The New York Times in some way.

HELLO KITTY STANDS on the balcony like Eva Perón, framed by two great stone pillars and a blue-green dome. At least theoretically she is standing: Save for the round, claw-free paws on the balustrade, she is all giant head, white as a lit-up lamp with sun ray whiskers and the slash of a red ribbon at her left ear, mouthless, her eyes wholly pupils. This little girl — she is not a cat, although not not a cat either (more on this in a bit) — presides over an exhibition at the Hyokeikan, part of the Tokyo National Museum complex in the city’s Ueno Park, celebrating her 50 years of existence and global domination.

Two bronze lions flank the entrance, lushly bearded in the European style but with one’s mouth agape while the other’s is shut, recalling the komainu (lion-dogs) that for centuries have kept vigil over Shinto shrines, silently forming the sounds “a” and “un”: alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. There are chains set up to corral crowds into a long, winding queue, but it’s an hour before closing and no one is waiting. The scene is eerily calm, in contrast to opening day the week before — Nov. 1, Hello Kitty’s official birthday (cute but Scorpio!) — when videos went viral on social media showing delirious fans (or resellers greedy for limited-edition merch) stampeding up the steps under their icon’s blandly munificent gaze.

The Tokyo-based character designer Hiroshi Yoshii, 62, knew he wanted to use an animal as the basis for one of his mascots and initially considered the owl for its associations with wisdom. Ultimately, though, he chose a tiger to symbolize “a sharp, unyielding stance against power and a relentless pursuit of truth — qualities that lie at the very heart of journalism,” he says. Tigers, he points out, can be portrayed as either fierce or endearing, making them ideal mascots. And the tiger stripes (torajima in Japanese) — black lines on white fur — reminded him of newsprint. He added extra ears — “to express its ability to gather vast amounts of information” — which form a Statue of Liberty-style crown in homage to New York City. “I replaced the torch with a pencil,” he says, “representing the power of words to illuminate truth.”