Editing Hello Kitty (section)

==Creation and design==
[[File:Yuko Shimizu 20100702 Japan Expo 2.jpg|thumb|[[Yuko Shimizu]] was the original designer of Hello Kitty.]]
In 1962, [[Shintaro Tsuji]], founder of Sanrio, began selling rubber sandals with flowers painted on them.<ref name="Belson">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/EL13Dh01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031214073645/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/EL13Dh01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=14 December 2003|title=Asia Times Online - The trusted news source for information on Japan|website=Atimes.com|access-date=2 October 2018}}</ref> Tsuji noted the profits gained by adding a cute design to the shoes and hired cartoonists to design cute characters for his merchandise.<ref name="Belson"/> Hello Kitty was designed by [[Yuko Shimizu]] and was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974.<ref name="Hello Kitty celebrates 30"/>

Hello Kitty was initially known only as {{nihongo|"the white kitten with no name"|名前のない白い子猫}}.<ref name="kotaku"/> Shimizu got the name ''Kitty'' from [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]''; during a scene early in the book, Alice plays with a cat she calls ''Kitty''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4Y9QAAAAIBAJ&pg=6545,6247336&dq=yuko+shimizu+lewis+carroll&hl=en|title=Hello Kitty, You're 30|date=15 November 2004|work=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=22 March 2012}}</ref> Sanrio's motto is "social communication", and Tsuji wanted the brand name to reflect that by including a greeting. He first considered "Hi Kitty" before finally settling on "Hello Kitty", her current name.<ref name="nytimes1999">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/29/style/IHT-the-small-white-cat-that-conquered-japan.html|title=The Small White Cat That Conquered Japan|last=Tracey|first=David|newspaper=New York Times |date=29 May 1999}}</ref> Sanrio decided to make Hello Kitty [[British people|British]] because foreign countries, in particular Britain, were trendy in Japan at the time of Hello Kitty's creation. Sanrio already had several characters set in the US, and it wanted Hello Kitty to be different.<ref name="timeyamaguchi" /><ref name="independent" />

In 1976 Setsuko Yonekubo temporarily took over as lead designer for Hello Kitty, after Shimizu left Sanrio. In 1980 [[Yuko Yamaguchi]] became lead designer and has remained in charge since.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.todayonline.com/lifestyle/hello-kitty-lead-designer-tells-origin-story-british-schoolgirl | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827174114/https://www.todayonline.com/lifestyle/hello-kitty-lead-designer-tells-origin-story-british-schoolgirl | archive-date=27 August 2016 | title=Hello Kitty's lead designer tells the origin story of the British schoolgirl |date=21 June 2016 |website=Today |publication-place=Singapore}}</ref> Yamaguchi has said that fashion, movies, and TV inspire her in creating new designs. New series involving Hello Kitty with different themed designs are released regularly, following current trends.<ref name="timeyamaguchi" /><ref name="nytimes2010" />

Spokespeople for Sanrio have said that Hello Kitty has no mouth, as they want people to "project their feelings onto the character" and "be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty."<ref name="timeyamaguchi" /><ref>Walker, Rob. ''Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are''. [[Random House|Random House, Inc.]], 2008. [https://books.google.com/books?id=o8Z_qq9xjs8C&dq=%22Without+the+mouth%2C+it+is+easier%22&pg=PA18 18]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on 30 August 2010. {{ISBN|1-4000-6391-4}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6391-8}}.</ref> Another explanation Sanrio has given for Hello Kitty's lack of a mouth is that she "speaks from the heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language."<ref name="independent" /> However, [[Yuko Yamaguchi]] has also said that "Kitty has a mouth" that is "hidden in the fur".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Roach |first1=Mary |title=Cute Inc. |url=https://www.wired.com/1999/12/cute/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=9 October 2022 |date=1 December 1999}}</ref> Representatives for Sanrio have said that they see Hello Kitty as a symbol of friendship, which they hope she will foster between people across the world.<ref name="timeyamaguchi" /> There has been speculation that Hello Kitty has her origins in [[Maneki Neko]], a traditional Japanese cat figurine. The name "Hello Kitty" is a back-translation of ''Maneki Neko'', meaning "beckoning cat" in English. Despite this, no definitive statement supports that speculation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yano|first1=Christine|title=Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific|date=29 April 2013|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0822353638|page=127|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LkailjbwhVoC&pg=PA127|access-date=30 August 2014}}</ref> Hello Kitty has also instead been put forth as an early example of ''[[mukokuseki]]'', a Japanese term meaning "stateless" or "nationless" in reference to characters lacking any identifiable national background.<ref name=OanaMaria>{{cite journal |last=Bîrlea |first=Oana-Maria |title=Soft Power: 'Cute Culture', a Persuasive Strategy in Japanese Advertising |journal=TRAMES: A Journal of the Humanities & Social Sciences |volume=27 |number=3 |date=July 2023 |pages=311–24 |doi=10.3176/tr.2023.3.07|doi-access=free }}</ref>