kawaii culture (かわいい)

かわいい — 'cute, adorable, lovable, pitiable' — is one of Japan's most exported aesthetic concepts, spelled 'kawaii' globally. One of the most culturally loaded words in modern Japanese, spanning visual cuteness (a baby), endearment (a child), pity (a small abandoned creature), the Hello Kitty aesthetic, and the mass commercial 'cute' mascot industry pervading Japanese branding.