Hello Kitty: Religion and Merchandise

A lot of the people in my study-abroad program expected to see Hello Kitty everywhere, or at least in a lot of places; it's one of the many stereotypes of Japan/Japanese culture that everything is cutesy and branded with Hello Kitty. Although stereotypes, like myths, typically contain a fragment of truth, it seemed during the semester that there was no truth to this one. That all changed once I started backpacking through Japan.

Before I discuss the major instances of Hello Kitty-ness I saw, I'd like to stress that I'm not sure why I started seeing that enigmatic kitten pop up on my travels--it would probably be a foolish ignorance of sample bias to speculate that Hello Kitty is all a tourist trap (I should also note that many of the tourists are Japanese or at least Asian). Since Hello Kitty is something like a cross between a corporate mascot and a logo for Sanrio, a Japanese merchandise company that has been specifically targeting the selling power of cuteness for decades, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see her in tourist spots. However, the idea of merchandising doesn't tell the whole story.

Hello Kitty, Itsukushima, and Momiji Manjuu

The Sanrio shop on Itsukushima

This is a perfect example of Hello Kitty as a driving force and an excuse for merchandise. There's a Japanese snack called a manjuu, which is basically a small, dense round bread item with filling (typically green tea or a red bean paste).

A typical momiji manjuu.

At some point, someone on the island of Itsukushima put a nifty twist on the manjuu by making it in the shape of maple leaves to play off the island's many maple trees. Thus the momiji manjuu was born (momiji means maple tree). Not to be outdone, Sanrio added to the twist by reworking the maple leaf's proportions to accomodate Hello Kitty's head. The cuteness is enhanced by the light Engrish on the signs. Click to see a larger picture if you can't read them.

Hello Kitty, Temples, and Protective Charms

A bunch of standard o-mamori.

Pretty much every single temple I have seen in Japan sells little fabric bags that are refered to as o-mamori (Protection or protectors), which is typically translated as "protective charm". They're available in many styles and for all sorts of things, such as good luck, academic success, and safety at intersections, among others. Although the idea of functional protective charms might seem downright silly and superstitious in America, many Japanese people do believe they work. There are some parts of the practice that appear to be capitalist manipulation of faith. For instance, I've been told by several hostel staff members in several cities that you have to give your charms back to a temple around New Year's and then get new ones because the change in the year makes the old charms lose their beneficial power and reverse their effect (an legitimization of forced obsolescence?). Furthermore, the design of the charms is apparently arbitrary, but temples that are tourist spots offer, in addition to the standard geometric-style designs, charms themed after the temple's particular claim to fame (Is it a souvenir or a religious item?).Nevertheless, after thinking about the Christian (or at least Catholic) analogues (crosses, rosaries, and saint medals), I concluded that the temples are probably sincere. Lots of people get or give new medals and religious symbols as the years pass (though not necessarily every year), especially to commemorate special times in their lives or pilgrimages to famous sites. After all there's nothing particularly devious about a church selling rosaries or crucifixes made from special local stone or medals of saints with a historical connection to the church, so it wouldn't be fair to jump to negative conclusions about the charms at these temples.

Explicitly Hello Kitty protective charms.

Of course any time I think I've put a cultural difference into perspective, something totally unexpected has to come along and throw me for a loop. At the Zen temple Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavillion) in Kyoto, I encountered protective charms clearly emblazoned with Hello Kitty. There goes my point of comparison: It would certainly be considered offensive or inappropriate for someone to sell a Hello Kitty crucifix, rosary, or medal (or a Nike one or one with any even remotely corporate symbol). I was so surprised, and unfortunately the staff was so busy, that I couldn't ask why the charms were considered acceptable. If I'd had greater presence of mind I'd've realized that I didn't need a Japanese word for blasphemy (which I certainly did not know)--asking whether the charm could be thought of as rude would have sufficed.

Perhaps the charms are aimed at kids (I can't know for sure since it's an American bias that something cartoony=something for kids; Anyone who saw Ren & Stimpy or looks around on the train in Japan knows otherwise.), and that makes it okay. I know I had a plastic rosary whose craftsmanship was not up to snuff until I could be trusted not to treat a nice one poorly. Maybe I'm looking at the question all wrong. Asian religions such as Buddhism and Shinto (Japan's most popular religions) tend to have far fewer absolute moral strictures (for instance no longstanding insistence that suicide is a sin) than Christianity. Perhaps o-mamori are just tokens that are meant to take bad luck or karma in the place of their bearers, and there aren't strict rules about them. Maybe they just need a blessing from a source of spiritual power and are meant to be enjoyed or appreciated by whoever receives them. If anyone has some insight, let me know. Next time I'm in Japan I'll be sure to ask.