Cat element "Tama Train".
Hello Kitty Shinkansen train.
Cat Day" advertisement.
Wang Tianqing, a special correspondent of this newspaper in Japan.
It's not news that Japanese people love cats. However, recently, the Japanese cat craze has reached a new height, according to the latest report in Japan, the number of pet cats in Japan has surpassed pet dogs. According to data from Kansai University, the "cat economy" brings about 1,969 billion yen (about 95.6 billion yuan) in revenue every year. The image of a cat from Japan is a nugget all over the world, and it also represents the image of Japan.
Hello Kitty becomes a "tourism ambassador".
It's not easy to name the most popular cat in Japan. There are so many famous cats in anime, literature, and everyday life that it's hard to say who has more fans.
Hello Kitty, known as Hello Kitty in Chinese, is a kitten character designed by Sanrio that will celebrate its 50th birthday next year. In Japanese childhood, Hello Kitty was everywhere, and everyone knows her story very well: 5 apples are high, 3 apples are heavy;Cheerful and kind;Good at English, love**;I like my mother's apple pie the most, and my future dream is to become a pianist.
Traditional Hello Kitty peripherals cover almost any product imaginable, and in order to adapt to the times, the company has also designed a large number of Hello Kitty anime, games, memes and **. Sanrio's sales in the second quarter of 2023 reached 20.3 billion yen, with a net profit of more than 4.9 billion yen, and a net profit of up to 12 billion yen is expected in 2023.
Although it is impossible to determine sales and profits, the sales volume of the beckoning cat should not be underestimated. The origin of the beckoning cat is unknown, there is a saying that in the past, most people who did business would keep cats to prevent rat infestation, and over time, the impression that cats can attract customers has been formed. The meaning of the two little chubby hands of the beckoning cat is not the same, and it is usually believed that it is the male cat who raises the right hand, which can bring good luck related to money, such as fortune and fortune, lottery winning;Raising the left hand is the female cat, which can bring good luck related to people, such as a large number of customers and an early marriage.
The color of the beckoning cat and the objects on its body are different, and the meaning is also different. In Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, and other places, there are even maneki museums. Tokyo's Imado Shrine directly allows the beckoning cat to enter the house, and the Haotokuji Temple enshrines countless large and small beckoning cats, and the wooden pagoda in the temple also adds a beckoning cat next to the "child mouse", so that the cat and the mouse can live in harmony. There are many other cute cat images. Doraemon, the cat-shaped robot that everyone loves, the cool and handsome cat baron in "The Cat's Kindness", and the empathetic Gigi in "The Witch's Home Delivery Service". Japan has launched an app for foreign tourists, "Visit Japan with Hello Kitty", and there are huge posters of Hello Kitty at customs and souvenir shops.
Cat Cafe ** Heart.
Cats in the real world are even more loved. In 1987, a group of cat lovers and scholars formed the "Cat Day Formulation Committee" and designated February 22 as "Cat Day". Every year on this day, various cat-themed events are held all over Japan. Some people will dress their pet cats in special costumes, and the store will also offer special cat-themed food.
In recent years, countless cat cafes have also opened in Japan. As the name suggests, a cat café is where customers can interact with a variety of cats while drinking coffee. Founded in 2005 as one of the first cat cafes in Japan, the emergence of cat cafes provided a place for Japanese people to release their inner stress when most apartments in Japan were not allowed to keep pets. Usually the cats in the cat café are carefully selected by the breeders, and they will move freely around the café, giving guests the opportunity to observe up close, take pictures, and play with them. This kind of café is a paradise for those who love cats. In addition, there is no shortage of popular cat bloggers on social **, and the number of fans is the average person.
The image of the cat is transformed.
In fact, before the 19th century, dogs were more popular than cats in Japan. After all, dogs were domesticated very early and have been working companions of humans for thousands of years, and cats were often depicted as yokai at the time. By the end of the Edo period, cats had become undesirable.
The reversal of the image of the cat is supposed to have started in the middle of the Meiji period. At that time, the plague was epidemic in Japan, and in order to eradicate rats, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a notice to each prefecture, asking the police to go door-to-door to persuade people to keep cats in order to eliminate rodent infestation. There is money to be made by catching mice, and in this context, there are more and more people who have cats. According to a Japanese newspaper report in 1908, a cat sales office was set up in Asakusa in Tokyo, and the number of cats** that had previously been unattended soared to 5 yen or 10 yen per cat**. The transformation of the cat from an immoral image to a useful presence began to be valued. After the war, with the development of the economy, organizations such as the "Japan Cat Association" and the "Japan Cat Hobby Association" were established one after another. Cat lovers began to publish photo books and encyclopedias of cats at their own expense, and more and more people learned about the joy of living with cats. By the 80s of the last century, people began to leave cats indoors. Thus, the cat began to become a formal family member. So for the Japanese, cat ownership is not so much a fad as a culture that has been honed over time. The cat economy is driving the development of cat-related industries, and people will show their fascination with cats in various forms.