The popular character Hello Kitty of the Japanese brand "Sanrio" was born in 1974. The white cat and the iconic red bow are cute and charming that capture hearts of thousands of girls around the world. Countless stationery products on Hello Kitty have been created and collaboration with famous brands is non-stop. Every girl must have  owned her products at some point in life.

You must think that only girls are fond of Hello Kitty? According to the Guinness World Record, the collector who has the most Hello Kitty products is a 68-year-old uncle Masao Gunji from Japan! He was originally a policeman. At the age of 20, he became obsessed with Hello Kitty because of one incident. Later, he bought more and more Hello Kitty items. He spent more than 30 million yen (about $370,000 US dollars) on more than 10,000 Hello Kitty items and built a pink color "Kitty House".

The Japanese variety show "Matsuno no Zhi Nai World" recently interviewed this Hello Kitty fan with Guinness World Records. He turned out to be a 68-year-old retired male policeman! Usually men at this age are inseparable from fishing, horse-race betting, chess and other activities, but this uncle is only obsessed with cute Hello Kitty. He started buying the first article in his 20s and possessed more than 10,000 pieces Hello Kitty products. He even built a pink "Kitty House" in order to store his collections, which costs a total of 30 million yen (approximately US$370,000 )!


What is the reason that he fell in love with Hello Kitty?

Why does Uncle Gunji have such a huge amount of money? He laughed and said, "I put all my pension on Hello Kitty."
What this retired Uncle Gunji likes to do most on weekdays is to take a nap surrounded by Hello Kitty
In fact, this lovely county clerk was a policeman before he retired. He started collecting Hello Kitty products at the age of 35.

When he was in his 20s, when he was traveling in Nikko, he passed a shop selling souvenirs. He accidentally saw a Hello Kitty mobile phone lanyard. He suddenly felt that he was healed by the appearance of Hello Kitty, so he went out of control.

As a police officer, Uncle Gunji kept restraining himself during his work until he finally broke out after he retired at the age of 60. The more he bought, the more he bought, now there are more than 10,000 Hello Kitty collectibles.

It is the dream house of Hello Kitty fans come true.

The TV program team came to Yotsukaido City in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.After entering the residential area, we found an all-pink house named "Kitty House".

The owner is a 68-year-old uncle. His name is Masao Gunji, who looks out of tune with the pink dreamy Kitty House.

Not only inside the house, even the garden outside is full of pink Hello Kitty! Uncle Gunji spent nearly 10 million yen (approximately US$110,000) to build this Kitty House.


The house is overwhelmingly crowded by Hello Kitty collections.There are Hello Kitty cosmetics that are never used at all. Also lots of Hello Kitty stationery. From huge plush toys to small decorative ornaments, as well as all kinds of precious joint-brand items!

The most expensive one is the statue at the door, with a total cost of over 1 million yen!

Mr. Gunji started to collect kitty on a large scale after he retired. The pension was almost gone very quickly, but Mr. Gunji never regretted it. Uncle Gunji spent a total of 20 million yen (approximately USD 2400,000) on all the products in the house, and there are more than 10,000 items in total! Kitty lovers from all over the world will now visit Mr. Gunji's house~

What does his wife think about this interest?

At that time, Mr. Masao Gunji, who was still living in his hometown, was strongly opposed by his father because he bought too many items.It turns out that the father of Uncle Gunji is an instructor at the police school. When he saw the house full of Hello Kitty products, he was furious and said to Uncle Gunji: "Are you working hard?"

Uncle Gunji did not expect that he would meet Hello Kitty's unexpected fate after retirement. He did not want to get married until he was 65, and his wife was the first person in his life to have a formal relationship. Uncle Gunji said: "I have always regarded Hello Kitty as my lover, and originally planned to stay single for the rest of my life."

The host asked: "Does your wife like Hello Kitty too?"

Uncle Gunji said, "No, she is not interested in Hello Kitty at all."

"But she always helps me collect fine products", it seems to be true love.

It turns out that Uncle Gunji does not have a driver's license.As a policeman, he chased criminals on bicycles.
His caring wife would be his "driver" and drives him to boutiques and Sanrio Puroland for shopping.

A Pink Hello Kitty House Full of Happniess

The pink dream house was also built with the help of his wife.Even the Guinness World Record was obtained with the help of his wife. The TV program team interviewed Mrs. Ryoko, the wife of Uncle Gunji, and asked about her first impression of her husband

"Scared! Although I knew he likes Hello Kitty, I never thought it would be so serious." However, Ryoko said that she was also attracted by Uncle Gunji who "likes Hello Kitty": "Seeing him gently guarding Hello Kitty, I was gradually attracted, and I felt very warm in my heart."

Ryoko shared the bitter history of collecting Hello Kitty products for her husband. She doesn’t understand English and nor how to use a computer, so she can only find someone to help count and apply for Guinness World Records.

The hardest thing to find is the Hello Kitty wallpaper on the ceiling of Kitty House.The previous world record holder with "Most Hello Kitty Products" has 4,519 items, which is easily surpassed by Uncle Gunji!

Ryoko hopes to continue to help her husband in the future. Although they don't have children, both of them hope to build a happy and warm family together.

Everyone has the right to choose what they like. Mr. Gunji doesn’t care about the opinions of others, and strives to pursue his own happiness. There are family members who support him. He is really a happy man in Kitty's love!

Read about it on NBCNEWS - Retired Japanese Police Officer Sets New Hello Kitty Record