Discover the meaning behind the viral “Ruby-chan” trend from the Japanese idol group AiScReam and how it took over TikTok and ...

Kawaii is inescapable in Japan, where I have lived since the 1990s ... As of the time of writing, 676 million posts are tagged #cute on Instagram. The 66 million or so TikTok videos with the ...

Japan has transformed Oita Airport into a kawaii wonderland that will make ... and My Melody. These Instagram-worthy spots create memories for fans of all ages. Hello Kitty fans also won’t ...

A certain nascency persists in the kawaii commodities that have won hearts not only in Japan but across the world ... bunnies and puppies that ornament Instagram Stories to even the Snapchat ...

Cuteness as a Japanese concept predates the modern use of the word “kawaii” — for example, in Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868), netsuke, or miniature charms made of ivory or boxwood ...

Its “Cool Japan” initiative leveraged popular culture—including anime, fashion, and kawaii icons like Hello Kitty—to “strengthen the ties between Japan and other countries.” ...

In Japan, ‘cute’ is a big deal. Their own word for it, kawaii (“ka-why-ee”), is more of an ethos than an adjective. Shops and billboards are filled with big-eyed fluffy figures.

Sanrio recruited Shimizu and other illustrators to create “kawaii” characters at a time when cute, girlish styles were popular in Japan. But the word is used often in Japanese society ...