What Is Kawaii? Japan's Culture of Cute, Explained

Walk past a construction site in Japan and the sign apologising for the noise may show a cartoon worker bowing. The local police force has a mascot, and so does the city. Convenience-store snacks, bank leaflets and train-safety posters are decorated with soft, round characters. This is kawaii: not just a fashion, but a way of designing things that shows up in places with no obvious reason to be cute.

Where it came from

Kawaii (可愛い) means "cute" or "lovable". The word comes from an older expression, kaohayushi, describing a face flushed with embarrassment; over the centuries its meaning shifted to "pitiable" and then to "cute".

The modern culture of cute is usually dated to the 1970s. Teenage girls began writing in a rounded, childish script, known as marumoji ("round writing"), decorated with hearts and stars, and some schools banned it. In 1974 the company Sanrio created Hello Kitty, designed by Yuko Shimizu, and gave the style its most successful product. Sanrio says Kitty has no mouth so that people can read their own feelings into her face.

In the 1980s and 1990s, kawaii spread into fashion, and Harajuku became its center. Street styles such as Lolita, Decora and Fairy Kei each took the same elements (softness, pastel colors, exaggerated proportions, childlike innocence) in different directions.

What makes something kawaii

Designers point to a few consistent features:

• Roundness. Round shapes look harmless, which is why most mascots have round heads and no sharp edges.
• Big heads and small bodies. The proportions of babies and young animals, which people instinctively find endearing.
• A little imperfection. A wobbly line, a lopsided smile or a clumsy personality makes a character more lovable, not less.
• Color. Usually pastels such as pink, pale blue, mint and lavender, though some styles, like Decora, use bright primary colors.

Kawaii in public life

In 2009 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed three young women as "Kawaii Ambassadors", representing Harajuku street fashion, school-uniform fashion and Lolita fashion, to promote Japanese pop culture abroad.

At home, cuteness is used to make institutions friendlier. Prefectures, cities, police forces and companies have mascot characters, on the theory that a cartoon face makes an official message easier to accept. Regional mascots, known as yuru-kyara, are kawaii applied to tourism and local promotion; see our guide to Kumamon, Funassyi and Japan's other mascots.

Where to see it

Harajuku, Tokyo. Takeshita Street is the busiest, most tourist-facing version, with sweets and accessory shops. The more serious fashion scene is in the smaller shops on the side streets; see our Harajuku fashion guide.

Sanrio Puroland, Tama. An indoor theme park built around Hello Kitty and the other Sanrio characters, good on a rainy day.

Character cafés. Cafés themed on Sanrio, Pokémon and many anime series, in Tokyo and Osaka. Most need a reservation.

Purikura booths. Photo-sticker booths that enlarge your eyes and smooth your skin, found in arcades and shopping centers. See our purikura guide.

Cat cafés. See our guide to the best cat cafés in Tokyo.

FAQ

Is kawaii the same as Lolita fashion? No. Lolita is one fashion style that draws on kawaii. Kawaii itself covers fashion, product design, mascots and food.

Why doesn't Hello Kitty have a mouth? Sanrio says it is so that people can project their own feelings onto her.

Is kawaii only for young women? No. Mascots, cute packaging and character goods are aimed at all ages, and many adults in Japan buy character stationery and homeware.

What's the difference between kawaii and yuru-kyara? Kawaii is the broad style. Yuru-kyara are mascot characters, usually for a place or organisation, designed in that style.

Where does the word "kawaii" come from? From an older word, kaohayushi, meaning a face flushed with embarrassment, which over time came to mean "pitiable" and then "cute".