Yoshikitty

Yoshikitty (stylized in all lowercase as yoshikitty) is a Japanese toy and merchandise line created in 2009 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Japanese musician Yoshiki of X Japan. The character was created by Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi. The brand specializes in rock-themed and high fashion goods, and was voted more popular than Hello Kitty in the 2018 Sanrio Character Ranking. Yoshikitty is the first Sanrio character modeled after a real-life person.^[1]

Yoshikitty
Created by	Yuko Yamaguchi
Years	2009-present
Miscellaneous
Theme park attraction(s)	Sanrio Puroland
Based on	Yoshiki
Official website
https://yoshikitty.shop/

History

In 2007, Sanrio designer Yuko Yamaguchi approached Yoshiki about writing an official theme song for Hello Kitty, which he premiered at Hello Kitty Con in Los Angeles in 2014.^[2] As Yoshiki worked on the song, their conversations inspired Yamaguchi to create an original design merging the character and the musician into "Yoshikitty".^[3]

Yoshikitty was revealed in May 2009 at X Japan's concert at Tokyo Dome. In August of the same year, large-scale Yoshikitty balloons were incorporated into the X Japan's stage production.^[4] On October 2, 2009, Yoshikitty's second design was revealed at Hello Kitty's 35th Anniversary celebration in Los Angeles.^[5]

The documentary film We Are X includes a Blu-ray special feature interview with Yamaguchi about her friendship with Yoshiki and the creation of Yoshikitty.^[6] A life-size version of Yoshikitty regularly appears at the Sanrio Puroland theme park and on special television events to play piano or drums.^[7]

Design

Yoshikitty's look is modeled closely after Yoshiki, and the character's main features are long blonde hair, purple eyeshadow, and black "rock star" attire.^[8] Toys have also been released featuring Yoshikitty wearing Yoshiki's androgynous stage costumes, such as a red and white nurse outfit, a wedding dress, and a "Cinderella" outfit.

Merchandise

Yoshikitty has been the basis for over 500 products, including high fashion clothing, jewelry, and cosmetic items.^[9] In 2019, a limited-edition 18k gold Yoshikitty figurine was released in collaboration with precious metal company Ginza Tanaka, with an estimated retail cost of US$10,000.^[10]

International popularity

Yoshikitty has been nominated in the international Sanrio Character Ranking for eleven straight years (since 2015).^[11] Yoshikitty was voted more popular than Hello Kitty in the 2018 Sanrio Character Ranking.^[12][13]

In global voting, Yoshikitty has been ranked #1 in Brazil, China, France, Germany, and Thailand.^{[12][14][15][16]}