Final version of Sanrio: Beginning of Kawaii exhibition opens in Tokyo[Photos]

Hello Kitty and friends’ tour of the country comes to its last stop in downtown Tokyo with a look back on 60 years of cuteness, Japanese-style.

Many would say that Sanrio is the first and last word in kawaii culture, creating enough of Japan’s cuteness to fill an entire exhibition tracing their 60-year history. Sanrio Exhibition: The Beginning of Kawaii has been touring around the country for the past five years, and as of this month it’s come to Tokyo for its grand finale.

The Final Version of the exhibition opened on April 9 in downtown Tokyo’s Roppongi neighborhood. The Mori Art Center gallery is serving as the venue for this event celebrating the house that Hello Kitty built…except that, as we saw on our visit, not only did Sanrio start off without Kitty-chan, the company actually didn’t have any character merchandise at all in the beginning. The commitment to cute designs that put smiles on people’s faces was always there, though, with Sanrio’s first big hit being its line of strawberry-motif drinkware.

Even once Sanrio got into the character merch biz, their first offerings used characters licensed from other companies and outside illustrators, including even Snoopy.

Eventually, though, Sanrio realized that designing its own characters would allow them to reach unprecedented heights of cuteness, and the exhibition gives visitors a look at some of the earliest concepts sketches for characters who’d later go on to become pop cultural icons.

An incredible amount of vintage character merch is on display, and any Sanrio fan who looks through it is sure to end up squealing with nostalgic delight at they spot pieces they used to own, long for, or otherwise have emotional childhood memories attached to.

The range of items on display really is amazing. Our Japanese-language reporter Puniko Ninoude had her fond but fuzzy recollections of the Marron Cream toothbrush set and Pochoacco stationery that she loved as a kid snap back into sharp focus upon seeing them once again.

There’s even a whole section of the exhibition devoted to “Premium Mascots,” the charms that Sanrio specialty shop staff would attach to gift-wrapped purchases as a little extra freebie.

You’ll find plenty of places for making new memories too, though, with photo spots featuring murals and statue-size plushies, plus a replica of Lady Gaga’s Hello Kitty Dress.

Since we stopped by on opening day, Hello Kitty herself, and Cinnamoroll too, were on hand to greet us.

And yes, naturally the event itself has a gift shop filled with adorable trinkets…

…and an attached cafe where you’ll want to thoroughly photograph your food before taking the first bite.

Sanrio Exhibition: The Beginning of Kawaii Final Version runs until June 21, with tickets available through the event’s official website here.

Related: Sanrio Exhibition: The Beginning of Kawaii Final Version official website
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