Part of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of “kawaii,” which is Japanese for “cute” but also connotes a lovable or adorable essence. Sanrio recruited Shimizu and other ...

In the wee hours of March 10, 1945, around 300 U.S. B-29 bombers dropped 330,000 incendiary bombs mainly on present-day Sumida, Koto and Taito wards in Tokyo. The bombs and ensuing fires destroyed an ...

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.

Over time, she became a symbol of ‘Kawaii’—the Japanese concept of cuteness—making her instantly recognisable worldwide. Her ...

The names of around 4,200 victims of the indiscriminate air raids on Tokyo by U.S. bombers near the end of World War II will ...

He dubs his genre as Kawaii Metal (or ‘Cute Metal’), which mixes some elements from heavy metal and J-Pop. One of the pioneers of this genre is a Japanese idol trio Babymetal, who just wrapped ...

Others are a bit more narrow, like kawaii metal. Created in Japan when Babymetal was formed, kawaii metal (also known as ...