A new line of buildable model kits lets fans build Hello Kitty, Kuromi and other Sanrio mascots and place them in a cute, ...

Japan’s long-standing culture of cute, known as Kawaii, is toning down its froth. The style was once entirely focused on girlish femininity: encouraging women to exude a childlike sweetness ...

Kawaii: Going crazy for cute the Japanese way Kawaii, or a love of the adorable, is huge in Japan – and it’s big here too. Bless, says Will Coldwell Will Coldwell Friday 31 May 2013 15:26 BST ...

“I think kawaii, or cute feelings, reminds us of human connection that we sometimes forget,” says Hiroshi Nittono, director of the Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory at Osaka University.

“Cute” is not a perfect translation of kawaii but it gives some idea of what it is about. The term emerged in the 1970s, at a time of economic prosperity in Japan when consumer goods and ...

Kawaii culture wasn’t only crystallizing at that time, but also becoming big business. The 1980s were more than happy to follow suit, ushering in a plethora of cutesy idols, both male and female.

The ‘kawaii’ effect Integral to the global phenomena of cute, the exhibition asserts, is “kawaii,” a Japanese word which literally translates as “cuteness.” ...