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From Combini to Space Launches: Lawson’s Karaage-kun Turns 37
Learn about Lawson’s Karaage-kun, the mega-hit product celebrating its 37th birthday — and how it’s gone where no nugget has gone before.
By Nyri Bakkalian
It began as a hot fast food item inspired by a popular 1980s manga. Since then, it has exploded in popularity, increased in variety, and even gone to space. What is Karaage-kun, which turned 37 this month? Learn more about this tasty fried chicken phenomenon from ubiquitous convenience store chain Lawson.
Manga Inspirations
Independent of the Lawson convenience store’s creations, karaage as a dish has a lengthy history in Japan. Early mentions of this dish by this name– though not by its present spelling– date to the 17th century. Originally written as 空揚, its modern spelling of 唐揚げ (“Chinese frying”) dates to the 1930s, when it attained the beginning of its current popularity.
Karaage-kun, by contrast, has much more recent roots. In 1986, Lawson seized on the popularity of a manga by Ueda Masashi called Kariage-kun…
