Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific By Christine R. Yano (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2013, 336 pp., $24.95, paperback, $89.95 cloth) For ardent fans or the casual Hello Kitty consumer, Christine Yano’s book, “Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific” has a little something for everyone. The book focuses on Hello […]
Hello Kitty celebrates 40 years with LA exhibition
LOS ANGELES — At just five apples high with her telltale red bow propped on the left side of her head, she’s an icon of global pop culture featured on everything from Band-Aids, T-shirts and backpacks to airplanes, curling irons and a dress donned by Lady Gaga. She also turned 40 this year, and this […]
SOU SOU: Turning traditional kimono into cool contemporary clothing
Kyoto is often known for its high-end traditional arts and culture, and as a city, is proud of its heritage as Japan’s ancient capital. Normally, the products from Kyoto are high quality and ornate — kimono that sell for thousands of dollars and austere traditional tea ceremonies that remain preserved from hundreds of years ago. […]
J-Pop a draw for crowds
Two years after the opening of the New People building in San Francisco’s Japantown, the third annual J-Pop Summit Festival took place over the weekend of Aug. 27 and 28. The festival expanded to two days for the first time, thanks to fans who raised money through Kickstarter, a platform that funds creative projects. The […]
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