Sanrio Co., Ltd. (, Kabushiki-kaisha Sanrio?) TYO: 8136 is a Japanese company that designs and licenses branded characters. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories.

Sanrio's best known character is Hello Kitty, a white cat with red bow and no visible mouth, one of the most successful marketing brands in the world. Sanrio was founded by Shintaro Tsuji as the Yamanashi Silk Company in 1960, using 1 million yen in capital. The company produced a line of character merchandise around gift-giving occasions.

It wasn't until 1973 that the company was officially established under the name "Sanrio." The word Sanrio comes from "San" and "Río", Spanish words appearing on names of cities such as "San Francisco", "San Diego", "Río de Janeiro". These words mean "saint" and "river" respectively.

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