Hiroshi Nittono receives funding from The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI No. 23330217. However, why cute things attract us and how they ...

Cute animals in elaborate costumes is all par for course in the kawaii culture of Japan, home of Hello Kitty. But there’s something about these cats in kimonos that elevates this trend beyond mere ...

Kawaii. You hear it in anime, you hear it on TV shows, and you hear it on the streets of Japan, where the word is spoken by young and old alike. With people around the world growing up on Japanese ...

Hello Kitty is one of the cutest and most recognizable characters in the world, and while the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise is almost as iconic in its own right, it's certainly a lot different.

Kawaii is anime's cutest side: from the hamster-sized sweat droplets when someone is stressed, to the iridescent blushing when someone is embarrassed. Its ultimate embodiment is the chibi, a style ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A decade ago, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee (aka the inventor of the world wide web) was asked what had ...