, full name , is a dress-up

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

series introduced in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on July 4, 1967 by

Takara Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture"). Products Toys In ...

, enjoying the same kind of popularity in Japan as the

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

series does in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Takara had sold over 48 million Licca-chan dolls as of 2002, and over 53 million as of 2007. Licca-chan was created by former

shōjo manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent females and young adult women. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent boys), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adul ...

artist,

Miyako Maki is a Japanese manga artist, and one of the earliest female manga artists. During the 1960s, Maki contributed significantly to the development of ''shōjo'' manga (manga for girls), and became one of the most popular ''shōjo'' authors of her gen ...

, who is also the wife of

Leiji Matsumoto is a Japanese mangaka, creator of several anime and manga series. His wife Miyako Maki is also a manga artist. Early life Matsumoto was the middle child of a family of seven brothers, and, in his early childhood, Matsumoto was given a 35m ...

. Takara has provided an extensive background story for the Licca-chan doll, including an age (11), where she attends school, names and occupations for her parents, and her favorite books (''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'' and ''

A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in '' St. Nicholas M ...

''). Licca-chan also likes ''

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...

''.

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

teamed up with Takara in the late 90s to release "Street Licca", who was a DJ that carried a Rough Trade record satchel, and mini, doll-sized LPs from the labels' artists. Along with her Ursula 1000, Gants and Spearmint records, she toted a pair of pink Converse running shoes, grey "leather" pants, headphones, layered hoody and a blonde bob haircut. Street Licca was the ultimate "indie rock" doll. In 2001, a pregnant adult version of Licca-chan was introduced which included a postcard the purchaser could send to Takara for a baby doll. The baby came with a key which allowed the doll to be returned to its standard proportions. The release of the doll happened to coincide with the birth of

Aiko is a female Japanese given name. is a Japanese surname, also romanized as Aikoh or Aiko. Aiko or Ayko is also a traditional male given name in Scandinavia and especially northern Germany. In Germany it is considered one of the old "ge ...

, the daughter of

Crown Prince Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession. ...

and

Crown Princess Masako is as the consort of Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Masako, who was educated at Harvard and Oxford, had a prior career as a diplomat. Early life and education was born on 9 December 1963 at Toranomon H ...

of Japan, a factor which helped boost the sales of the new doll. Since then, other versions of Licca-chan have been introduced, including a new "Departure Licca", released just ahead of the 40th anniversary in 2007. A Licca-chan video game was released for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

in Japan on November 29, 2007. This game was later released in the U.S. on October 14, 2008 as ''

Lovely Lisa , full name , is a dress-up doll series introduced in Japan on July 4, 1967 by Takara, enjoying the same kind of popularity in Japan as the Barbie series does in the United States of America, United States. Takara had sold over 48 million Licc ...

''.

Biography

In 1966, Takara planned to enter the dress-up doll market taking advantage of the know-how of the plastic process. The initial plan was for the company to plan a dollhouse which could be carried by children, for dressing dolls of other companies like

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

. The size was larger than expected and the plan was reviewed not suitable for Japanese housing circumstances and children's carrying. While planning, a fashion doll, in a setting of elementary school, the height 21 cm to fit in the palm was in favor, adopting characteristics of a cartoon girl. Miyako Maki was put in charge of the illustration of the advertisement at the time of release and the advertisement was named as "supervised by Maki-sensei". The name "Licca-chan" was decided by the general public offering on the July 1967 issue of the monthly girl manga magazine "

Ribon is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are ''Nakayoshi'' and '' Ciao''. Its target audience is girls roughly 8–14 years old. It is one of the best-s ...

". Subsequently, the name "Rica" became known as a name that works for both Japanese and foreigners. Two years after the launch in 1969, the dolls were accepted by the Japanese children causing Mattel (makers of the

doll) to move its production base to another country, focusing less on sales in Japan. Licca-chan started exceeding Barbie sales and began to reign as the queen of Japanese dress-up dolls. Despite the popularity, Licca-chan dolls suffered a decline in sales in the 1990s due to rival dolls based on anime like

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

. In 1996, Licca-chan returned to the top sales of dress-up dolls again. Even now, Licca-chan is highly recognized and it is even used as a synonym for other dolls from different companies. From its high recognition from the Takara era to the current

Takara Tomy is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...

, Licca is positioned as a corporate identity character of the manufacturer. As of today, Japan's Licca and America's Barbie are the only two fashion dolls in the world that have lasted more than 25 years and their sales are always in competition.

Product development

Licca chan dolls were a creation of new value for play and the objective was to provide dreams for girls. These dolls taught traditional women’ lives such as cooking, washing, cleaning, through “let’s pretend” play. To play with these dolls, many family dolls, dresses, houses and accessories were sold at the same time. In order for these dolls to be popular, the key was to always develop products from the child's perspective. It was the philosophy that Yasuhiro Kojima, a former senior managing director lived by. It still remains the founding philosophy of the product development team. In the fictional setting, Licca-chan is born to a Japanese mother and a French father. Most customers don't know this and believe she is entirely Japanese. However, the fusion of West and Japanese elements makes the product exotic in Japan, making the sales very good.

Product specifications

The specifications of the Licca-chan doll has changed over time. The doll is currently on its fourth generation. The first generation was launched in 1967. Licca-chan had brown curly hairs with bangs. Her charm point was the one white star in her eyes. The second generation was launched in 1972. Licca-chan's hair was more reddish brown and her bangs were parted. The stars in her eyes increased to three and she wore magnetic heels. The third generation was launched in 1982. Licca-chan's hair is a lighter brown and it is straight. Her body size is the same as the second generation and her mouth is open instead of closed. The fourth generation Licca-chan was launched in 1987. Licca-chan's hair is close to blond and her eyes were bigger. Her body grew by 1 cm making her height 22 cm. Licca-chan, her family and friends evolved generation by generation to reflect the vogue of the time period. She depicted fashion, careers and family life of that era. Additionally, her parents were also known as an ideal married couple, ideal parents leading to an ideal family life.

Character setting

The character setting has some variations depending on the time and is not constant. One of the key secrets behind Licca-chan's popularity was her unique profile the developers have created. * Real name: Rika Kayama * Birthday: May 3, 1967 * Age: 11 years old (5th grader in Shirakaba Gakuen Elementary School) * Star Sign: Taurus * Height: 142 cm * Weight: 34 kg * Personality: Cheerful but slightly impulsive * Future Career: Designer * Favorite color: White and pink * Favorite flower: Red rose * Hobby: Singing, playing the piano, window shopping and baking

Licca's family

* Father: Pierre Kayama (French musician, age 36, birthday: August 8) * Mother: Orie Kayama (Japanese designer, age 33, birthday: July 7), (opened her first fashion boutique “Jueru” in 1969) * Older Sister: Rie (flight attendant - character product who existed from 1972 to 1974 but it is not listed on the current official website) * Younger twin sisters: Miki and Maki Kayama (age 4, birthday: June 12, 1974) * Younger triplets: Miku, Kako, and Gen Kayama (age 1, birthday: March 3, 1987) * Grandpa: Albert (family name, nationality unknown; paternal grandfather), Hiroshi Kayama (Japanese, maternal grandfather) * Grandma: Milene Miramond (French, age: 63, birthday: September 15), Yoko Kayama (Japanese, maternal grandmother, age: 56, birthday: October 10) * Cousin: Charles * Pets: Pee-chan (parakeet), Lemon (dog), Pudding (dog), Lime (dog)

Media

Licca-chan makes an appearance in the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''Kiben Gakuha Yotsuya Senpai no Kaidan''.

References

External links

*
Licca-chan page at Takara-Tomy
*

*{{in lang, en}

(listing many different types of Licca-chan dolls) Products introduced in 1967 Takara Tomy franchises Fashion dolls Japanese fashion Japanese popular culture