I realize that it's more a combination of tradition and their self imposed ~exile~ (isolationism, corrected) from the world for a long time.
But there must be a reason why they excel, I mean really excel at anything they put their minds to.
Their population also tolerates this! These businesses stay in business!
Just to name a few things they're still unbeatable at:
1. Pens (This is a rabbit hole, buyer beware)
2. Paper (Midori! oh Midori)
3. Architecture (a function of their location, but none-the-less)
4. Art (manga, cartoons, all invaluable part of the pop culture even today)
5. I don't partake as much, but their food is unbelievable.
There's just something about their tenacity that we can take a morsel of.
edit: Corrected from exile, to isolationism. Also, I did forget about photography! (Nikon!) and chalk! All credits to people(ai?) in the comments below for these edits.
Many of my most profoundly impactful (to myself and others) works birthed themselves painlessly in thirty minutes or less. Several ones that mean the most to me in less than five minutes.
Surely one of the lowest birthrates in the world and highest suicide rates would contend with that.
Japan’s work culture, staying late for no reason, sleeping at the office as a sign of dedication.. these things still argue against “understanding the point of life”
There is a brand of Japanese chalk which is very popular among people who frequently use chalk. It is called Hagoromo.
See:
- Why mathematicians are hoarding this special type of Japanese chalk: https://gizmodo.com/why-mathematicians-are-hoarding-this-spe...
- Apparently that company was purchased from its previous owner and continues to operate: https://hagoromo.shop/
They have nice pens? So does Pelikan and Visconti
They have nice paper? So does Smythson and G. Lalo
They have nice architecture? Beautiful, unique, inspiring? So does every other country (except of course for modern architecture)
They have nice pop art? There's some really nice anime out there, just like our comics, though anime is generally more soulful than the capeshit stuff, for sure
Food? As tasty and unique as any other country's I'd say, though you'll leave the restaurant with an empty stomach
I think Japan has done a better job than most countries at preserving the economic viability of arts and crafts, deliberately via protectionism and accidentally via cultural elements. I wish my own culture valued cultural tradition and quality over absolute economic efficiency, as they once did.
This is probably the secret sauce. I'm only a neophyte Japanophile, but respect for masters of crafts seems a big part of their culture[0]. But experts can't make a living off vague cultural values. So the Japanese government, in their fervent desire to preserve their ethnic and national identity, pours a lot of money and attention on craftsmen associated with their cultural heritage[1]. And now the cultural values are important, because Japanese voters have a more positive view of this spending than citizens of other countries might.
[0]Yes, all cultures respect experts. But what matters is how much respect relative to other figures. For example, in the United States, business leaders enjoy more respect than master craftsmen.
[1]https://web.archive.org/web/20110813130933/http://www.bunka....
Explaining luxury combs because of sakoku is a bit absurd. It's akin to explaining luxury handbags due to the vikings invasions.
Though perhaps watchmaking is an exception.
Surely it's more to do with population density? It's not like every Japanese person has one of these combs.
It's much more likely that these niche businesses can exist where population is highly concentrated.
Once started down a path, never stop, never change course. 我慢して!
Anyway, I thought that's a cool example of the intense craftsman culture "paying off" beyond just receiving admiration for impressive combs.
- Better denim than America
- Better coffee than Italy/France/etc
- Better French pastries than France
+ Their whole revolutionary industrialization with Deming is something for the history books.
As that one economics joke goes "There are four types of economies in the world - Developed, Developing, Japan and Argentina."
As for Japanese coffee, my only experience has been the canned stuff which was awful.
I get a macchiato at %[0] about once a week and it’s ridiculously next-level.
But for hanging out, I’d still prefer an Italian coffee bar in Italy. Does Japan have that kind of coffee culture too, or is it all the equivalent of selvedge denim?
The things that I can praise are mostly things that don’t usually exist outside of Japan, either because foreigners don’t like them or because it’s difficult to make them, some examples include:
- “smart” toilets -- https://jp.toto.com/products/toilet/
- (fresh) もち -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi
- 卵かけご飯 -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamago_kake_gohan
- あんこ -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_bean_paste
- variety of 漬物 -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukemono
- (cheap! fresh and delicious) sushi (the one we find in American restaurants is… well, Americanized, e.g. cucumber, avocado, bunch of sauce, etc.; you may as well buy californian rolls and call it a day). Good sushi in American restaurants is expensive, that’s why I put emphasis in the word “cheap”.
- 神戸ビーフ -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef which you can easily buy in America too, but somehow the quality is not the same, I am not sure why, maybe the pastures or the way they treat the cows. I have no idea.
- kitchen knives -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_kitchen_knife , for example, e.g. Santoku (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoku), Yanagi-ba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanagi_ba), Nakiri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakiri_bōchō), Deba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deba_bōchō), among others.
That said, Japan also produces a lot of silly stuff:
- U$200 (square-shaped) watermelons -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_watermelon
- U$50 (Egg of the Sun) mangos -- https://www.m-tokusan.or.jp/en/main-products/mango/
- U$200 (Yubari King) melons -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yubari_King
- 95 ft² apartments -- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2022/10/09/general/japan-m... —and— https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-...
I personally rather enjoy origami. I've been doing it for around 45 years (on and off) and am a bit crap. It is quite fun throwing a frog or crane at someone to show how exciting a meeting is 8) If you need to be really unsubtle - a "water bomb" (cube) does the job. I love the really complicated stuff but I have to follow instructions - box pleating can get hairy, very quickly.
1-5 - perhaps. Do recall that other exemplars exist. Wherever you are from, your country or culture will almost certainly be expert, the best or whatever at something. The important thing is to notice these things and to embrace them.
There used to be a notion, hereabouts, of the "Renaissance Man" - someone erudite in all pursuits of endeavour. Obviously we would like to broaden the scope to "Person" nowadays but the notion still seems a good one to aspire towards.
Just looking at your 4 - Art ... you would be unlikely to see something like "Footrot Flats" as a Japanese cartoon. Cards on the table - I'm a Brit and Footrot Flats is a long running series of cartoons by a bloke called Murray Ball from NZ (2) I personally find the shenanigans of Wal, Cooch and co the best cartoons I've ever read and I am a massive fan of Asterix (mostly French) too. Oh and Tintin (Belgium).
Look outwards as well as inwards, otherwise you may end up with an economy that is held up as being a counter example to the rest of the world. On the other hand: does it really matter. Economics is barely a science, let alone a craft. Perhaps we need some better measures, when doing crass comparisons.
Vive la différance.
(1) https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/03/28/h...
I'd recommend the book Jutaku by Naomi Pollock to get a sense of how uniquely innovative Japanese housing architecture is. Ironically a major reason is tax depreciation rules for houses which encourage homeowners to demolish and rebuild rather than renovate.
He said that the Japanese have high expectations for quality, but more than that, every person is supposed to contribute to the overall high quality of everything. This is enforced through deep social pressure that governs your entire life.
Needless to say, this is quite unlike the US.
Tenacity? Their tenacity for genocide, torture, and chemical/biological warfare is probably something we could do without.
This is still topical because for decades the powers that be in Japan have been openly pushing "we did nothing wrong / were the victims in WW2" historical revisionism that would make a Texas Board of Education member blush, and they've been increasingly running roughshod over the restrictions on military buildup.
Then there's the horrific criminal justice system.
Oh, and there's also the rampant xenophobia and racism.
You spoke of high praise for their manga; google "terraformars." A manga that started in 2011, gained an anime adaptation, and is still wildly popular. White/asian space settlers land on mars and battle native "bugs" that look exactly like extreme caricatures of black people, right down to their hair and hairstyling.
I don't take care of my $3 Ace plastic comb, and it's over 20 years old. You're telling me for this Japanese one I need to pay $200 and I need to start taking care of it??
But it’s an illusion from marketing than reality.
It may be true that many aspects of Japanese culture are better than the American stuff, but doesn’t mean Japan has any global advantage in their fancy niche products over other countries like China, Korea, Sweden, or Switzerland.
Just as an example, the pantheon comb by a Slovakian company eclipses this “fancy” 200 dollar Japanese one.
Where the average is high, it's easy to believe that the peaks are also high - higher than in (say) China.
For every industry mass production kills, there is at least one company that survives by making an artisan alternative.
Think of the humble noodle shop with three seats and a constant queue of thirty people down the street. Intensely business-minded (almost imperialistic) people find it very hard to understand people who just don’t think that way. For some, doing one’s best and getting by is enough. But it seems naive and backward to others.
They're an even greater source of joy when you have some knowledge on them; the same goes for architecture, flora, etc.
