Spotlight: The Unicorn is a Symbol of Sanrio

A while back I was talking with my friend unicolove about some older Sanrio photos and how they related to Osamu Tezuka and Unico. I remembered seeing some images in older Sanrio magazines and newly published books, but I never paid much attention because they weren’t focused on Unico. Then it got me thinking. There was a focus on Unico, but you have to look in the right place. While there’s not a lot of information on the early days of Unico, I thought it would be fun to share what I’ve found in correlation to our favorite unicorn. While Unico was created in June 1976 during Tezuka’s trip, 1977 became the year Sanrio really pushed for the unicorn to be their symbol. I learned this when I discovered a company booklet called “Welcome to Sanrio Fantasia.” The image to the right isn’t great, but you can see a better close up on Kan7 Hobby’s website which features the 1976 Sanrio/Lyrica Unico design on the cover.

Though I couldn’t obtain the booklet, companies normally use these materials to recruit new employees. They might give them to the general public or business partners to help them understand the company before they work there. This booklet contained information about Sanrio’s company philosophy, distribution center, sales trends, employee welfare activities, and more. It really offers a fascinating glimpse into Sanrio’s corporate history.

So, let’s take a trip back to when Osamu Tezuka created Unico. Before his trip to Los Angeles, California, Sanrio approached Tezuka to create a comic for their new magazine and invited him to visit their animation studio. Since Tezuka was going to travel to do research for his series The Three-Eyed One (三つ目がとおる), he would have some time to visit. After arriving in California, he visited Susumu Aketagawa, who was working on Sanrio projects at the time. Aketagawa and Tezuka have known each other since the Mushi Pro days, and Tezuka got a tour of Sanrio’s animation studio and the Metamorphoses (aka Hoshi no Orpheus/Wings of Change) film they were currently working on. The film was based on Ovid’s poem by the same name and featured a handful of mythological stories from Ovid’s work. While at the studio, Tezuka imagined a new character and had to sketch it down right away. These sketches would be the first glimpses of Unico.

But let’s stop a moment.

This trip and Unico’s beginning were mentioned in The Osamu Tezuka Story, a manga about Tezuka’s life. The manga illustrated Tezuka’s discussion about Sanrio and it’s interesting how these few panels foreshadow events with their mentions of a unicorn and mythology. This makes you think Tezuka’s discussion also played a part in Unico’s creation. Check it out below:

Other than the unicorn at the Sanrio headquarters being mentioned, it’s sort of curious why Tezuka decided on such a character. Or maybe it’s not? Tezuka drew inspiration from many sources, including Greek mythology for several of his other series as well. Apollo’s Song, Faust, and Phoenix, to name a few. Perhaps it was simply time for a cute unicorn from Greek mythology to appear? What inspired this unicorn creation?

Let’s think about unicorns for a moment. For centuries, unicorns have represented a variety of concepts; if you admire these creatures, you likely know some of these. Artists and storytellers have often illustrated young maidens and doting unicorns. Unicorns symbolize many things, including loyalty, love, innocence, power, and purity. Those elements, along with a touch of fantasy, were ideal for a comic aimed at young girls, and that’s precisely what Sanrio’s Lyrica magazine published with Unico.

The magazine Sanrio asked Tezuka to contribute to was Lyrica, and it focused on shoujo (girl) comics that ran from November 1976 to March 1979 in Japan. Several well-known mangaka contributed stories to the magazine, and Sanrio was attempting to branch its work to Western audiences. This was always an interest of Tezuka’s as well, and he often promoted Japanese comics around the world and even became a “Manga Ambassador” by 1980. Tezuka was happy to join and started almost immediately on the new manga series with Unico shortly after his creation.

Unico’s editor for Lyrica, Norio Yamakawa, mentioned in an interview that when they were in the character creation stage of the manga, Tezuka drew four or five variations of Unico and asked Yamakawa which one he’d choose. While there were many versions, the cutest design won everyone over.

So let’s return to the plush unicorn at Sanrio’s headquarters that was mentioned earlier. The Japanese headquarters is in Tokyo, where this mythical greeter lived at the time. While the California locations most likely did not have one of these, Tezuka did indeed get to see it when he visited the headquarters back in 1977. In a roundtable discussion with other Sanrio artists, he mentioned visiting with his daughter (unsure if it was Rumiko or Chiiko) and she was confused when she saw the unicorn. Tezuka told her it wasn’t his Unico, and she gave him a funny look. While Unico and the unicorn at Sanrio looked similar, Tezuka continued on to say that when artists draw unicorns for children, they often look similar. He mentions Disney’s 1940 film “Fantasia” as an example.

But what did that unicorn from the Sanrio headquarters look like? Well, I’m glad you asked!

The head moved back and forth, but you can see it’s a white unicorn with a mouse resting on its back. It stood on its own platform in front of the reception desk, surrounded by plants. The playful interior design welcomed visitors into a Sanrio fantasyland. One page from the “Welcome to Sanrio Fantasia” booklet contained a brief description of the unicorn standing at the reception desk to greet visitors.

Translation:

The unicorn is a symbol of Sanrio.

“Hello! Who are you?”
When you step inside Sanrio, the first thing that speaks to you is a cute white unicorn.
The unicorn is a mythical animal from Greek mythology, and it has long been said that happiness will come to those who see it.

Neat, huh? I don’t have information on who provided the unicorn’s voice or where it went after Sanrio remodeled the layout for the headquarters, so it’s a mystery for now. There may be information out there, but until it surfaces, we’ll have to sit and wonder. You can find more photos and information of the unicorn at Sanrio’s headquarters in the 70s & 80s Sanrio Design book and on unicolove’s post. The unicorn was considered an employee as well! Too cute!

Now concerning the idea that “the unicorn is a symbol of Sanrio,” I believe the company has always embraced dreamlike characters, and a unicorn really fits what they wanted to market. Lyrica magazine used Unico as a mascot and featured his design on several free promotional items like stickers, trinkets, and more. Unico himself became a symbol of fantastical magic, love, and happiness during this time and will continue to do so for a long time.

Sources:
– 【明田川進の「音物語」】第8回　「星のオルフェウス」制作秘話と、ロスで手塚先生のお手伝いをした話 : ニュース – アニメハック
– Medieval manuscripts blog: Printed books
– Unicorns – a brief history – St Neots Museum
– Company History | Sanrio
– The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime – Association for Asian Studies