This is an introduction of a book.
“Imitated Japan - Films, Animations, Dishes and Fashions” wrote by Yasuki Hamano, published as the Library “Shodensha Shinsyo”.
It is the time of cultural strategy now! The world imitates Japan.
Japan desires the recovery of economic power, but people overseas are paying attention at Japanese cultures, especially a pop culture. They call them cool.
An “imitating nation” has changed into an “imitated nation”. Japanese animations storms in the world, and causes many imitations. This phenomenon extends to dishes and fashions. What is the Japanese culture, which enchants the world?
On the book ad is printed “Cool Japan” but in the body text I could not find these words. In 2005 when this book was written this expression may be not established yet.
The first half of this book treats various cases of the phenomena, and the last half treats author’s points of view.
A review of a good evaluation:
- The first half: Only sporadically I knew these cases, but in this book the influences Japanese films and animations have given to those of Europe and U.S.A. are orderly arranged. It is perfectly fit for my mind. I am encouraged as a Japanese, because Japan, different from the conventional “exotic and alien nation”, observable without uncomfortable feeling in the world can create “universal value” as typified by “Hallo Kitty” and “Dragonball”.
- The last half: The author talks how Japan has been neglecting its own valuable culture since the Meiji Restoration. Japanese in an uncomfortable sack suits with hamburger in the mouth will not be able to surpass the original breeder of its culture of the European nations and U.S.A. It is required of Japan to propagate its essential, original culture worldwide.
A review of low evaluation
- I suspect the literacy of the publisher of this book, who in the form of a library published the not coherent nonsense. The author jumps to a conclusion that an excellence of Japanese animation indicates international and economic importance of Japan. It is too imperfect as a review and too disruptive as an essay. Even taking into consideration the influence of Josepf Nye, the author of “Soft Power”, yet it is no more than a nationalistic, cultural masturbation.
What a harsh criticism!
Reading the book myself, however, I understand the cause of this harsh criticism.
The author talks about pop cultures covering mangas, animations, film , music, dishes, fashions and so on, but his way of presentation is fragmentary, and above all without attachment, in other words, it’s a watch from above.
The title of the author is Professor of Graduate School of Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo.
I suspect pop cultures do not interest him genuinely, but he made a collage of convenient examples to back up his own theory. Besides, not a few of the examples are already rusted in this rapidly changing world.
So, is it worthless to read this book at all? Not entirely.
For example, see the following example:
Japan, enjoying itself as an imitator of foreign countries for a long time, doesn’t have its own estimation standards, but accepting always foreigner’s estimation..
A same standard as theirs doesn’t do. It’s rather an example of imitation. We have to have a estimation standards which comfortably sit on our tradition and history, and arouse an empathy in other people.
Not an expansion of one value but an acknowledgment of a diversity of values must be our possible course. This point of view is worth imitated. In a word, a counter-culture of the global standard and strategy of empathy.
We are nurtured in a repeated implanting of the idea, that Japan is a small country without natural resources, but we found it a country with abandant cultural resource.
A culture is a common possession of those, who belong to the same cultural sphere, and nobody can be deprived of it. It is our valuable resources.
I have been in TOKYO GAME SHOW 2008.
This is the biggest game show in Japan, taking place in Makuhari Messe, Chiba Pref. It is hosted by Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA), the once a year festival for game market and game fans.
Originally it sited in TOKYO BIG SIGHT, but as number of visitors grew, and booths became enormous, it moved to Makuhari Messe in autumn, 1997. During the 4 running days (2 business days and 2 opening days for public) 190,000 people, and during a peak day 70,00 people, visited it.
I have visited either business days and open days.
I have visited the booths of big makers and those of colleges as well, and I was overwhelmed.
Now I compare this exposition with the Japan Expo in Paris.
First, similar points:
Both sites are similar in the air of excitement and general atmosphere,.
The visitor’s faces showed that of ardent game lover. They might keep talking on games over night.
I saw a lot of non-Japanese, who seemed to love the game as well. The Japanese subculture develops
from manga and animation to the game, I can see the world giving an eye to the Japanese game.
And different points:
In the TOKYO GAME SHOW the majority of the visitors were men. The proportion is approximately 80% to 20%. Their motivation to come is to try newest games or exclusive games displayed by makers..
However, the visitors scarcely had conversation with each other, although they are all game lovers. Everybody was giving steady look at display, or absorbed in games. It was a self-contained world.
Between halls a photo session was going on for cosplayers, who seemed somewhat vigorless, probably because they didn’t have direct relation to the game show.
TOKYO GAME SHOW may be an experience-based event organized by the makers.
On the other hand, Japan Expo attracted almost same numbers of men and women. It impressed me, that there are many girls in Gothic and Lolita or sailor style. Not only exhibitors but also visitors had something to say.
The cosplayers are central players there. Various intercommunications are seen - I saw groups interchanging addresses in the court.
Japan Expo is a participatory event with consumers as a central prayer.
TOKYO GAME SHOW and Japan Expo have similar type of participants. But substantial difference exist in the way how they take part in them.
It may be a difference between Japanese and French.
H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) will open H&M GINZA on September 13, 2008.
This is their first branch in Japan, with a second one due to open this autumn in Harajuku and a Shibuya branch planned for summer 2009.
H&M will concentrate on running these three branches for the foreseeable future, although the possibility of further outlets opening in shopping centers has not been ruled out.
H&M is not worried about the recession in Japan; rather, the company sees it as a possible opportunity to increase the number of branches it operates.
I read about Rolf Eriksen, the CEO of H&M, in a Business Week feature six years ago. The article outlined his character well.
Rolf Eriksen
Chief Executive, Hennes & Mauritz
Rolf Eriksen didn't find his dream job until he was 42. That was in 1987, when he was recruited by Swedish apparel retailer Hennes & Mauritz (HMRZF ) to manage its Danish operations. "I had to think about it for a week," admits Eriksen, now 57. "I didn't know the company. But I've never regretted it."
That's because Eriksen and the family-controlled company, founded in 1947 by Swedish businessman Erling Persson, proved a perfect fit. Eriksen, after successfully running H&M's 49 stores in Denmark, also took charge of the chain's 118 stores in Sweden. Then, two years ago, H&M tapped Eriksen to be CEO when his flamboyant predecessor, Fabian Mansson, left to join a dot-com.
The market panned the choice, but Eriksen has since won over investors by doubling earnings per share and turning H&M into the hot apparel chain in Europe. He has slashed costs, streamlined distribution, and broadened H&M's line, which catered mainly to teenagers. In the process, Eriksen has turned H&M into a formidable challenger to the likes of Benetton Group, and in the U.S., H&M is a growing rival to Gap (GPS ). "H&M [has] a very broad appeal," says Phil Clark, a retail analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in London. The company's net income rose 49.5% in 2001, to $381 million, as sales jumped 29%, to $4.7 billion. Earnings rose a further 33% in the first quarter.
Eriksen's formula is simple. His stores feature plenty of basic clothing for women 15 to 35, plus duds for children and some casual men's wear. H&M also offers trendy styles for men, women, and children at moderate prices. Right now, the stores are pushing a retro hippie look with embroidered bell bottoms for men and peasant blouses for women. Clothing is priced moderately so customers can afford to buy new styles every year, Eriksen says. His ideal customer is a middle-class woman in her 30s with two children who shops for the family at H&M.
A conservative dresser himself who prefers dark suits, Eriksen sees consumers' tastes around the developed world as increasingly homogeneous, whether they are in New York, Paris, or Stockholm. For him, that means there is little need to customize offerings from market to market. "The world is becoming smaller and smaller," he says. "Especially the young customers. They are the same all over."
Drawing on that observation, he is expanding ambitiously in the U.S. After opening its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York in 2000, the company now operates 32 stores along the East Coast and plans to double that number within five years. Although only a few U.S. stores are profitable, Eriksen expects profits to improve steadily as sales increase and startup costs level off.
He also sees potential for growth in Canada and southern Europe, especially Italy and Portugal. Outside the Nordic markets, H&M's presence is largest in Germany, where it has 206 stores, followed by Britain with 59 and the Netherlands with 57. Altogether, by 2007, Eriksen hopes to be managing a chain of some 1,300 stores across Europe and North America. For now, he has no desire to expand into riskier Eastern European or Asian markets.
Eriksen's perch atop the corporate ladder is a long way from the Danish fishing village where he grew up. As a child, he figured he would end up in his father's painting business. He studied decorative furniture and scene painting at a local college but decided to explore other options. A part-time job on an advertising campaign for a Copenhagen department store led to a position at a retail chain run by Denmark's cooperative movement and, later, H&M.
Although he has been in the rag trade for decades, Eriksen has no plans to retire soon. "Maybe I'll work for 10 more years," he muses. "I love to work." Still, he doesn't let the job follow him home. "I'm a very private person when I'm not at work. I want to take care of my family," he says. Family includes two children, a grandchild, and his wife, Janne, who, he admits, shops at Gap as well as H&M. Eriksen takes that in stride. "It would be great if H&M customers only shopped at H&M. But it would be boring," he says. That's the sign of a confident manager.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A Visit to the Individual Fashion Expo 4
I visited the Individual Fashion Expo 4, an event that showcases fashions such as Gothic, Lolita and Punk. The Expo was held at Tokyo’s JCB Hall, a clean, compact 3,100-seater venue that was opened in March, 2008. Looking around, I saw that 90% of the audience were females wearing costumes of the Lolita and Gothic fashions.
Big ribbons and bonnets were everywhere – imagine a scene with lots of young women like Kyoko Fukuda in the film Kamikaze Girls. There were also male companions in punk or visual-kei gear. There were even groups of non-Japanese in Gothic-Lolita getups.
The show began with Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, a Lolita fashion brand.
How kawaii (pretty)! The audience’s expressions showed emotions of fantasy and yearning.
It was a quiet show.
* Alice and the Pirates
* Angelic Pretty
* Metamorphose
* Princess Doll
* Victorian Maiden
Gothic-Lolita fashion is divided into Lolita-related, Punk-related and Gothic-related brands, each with its own characteristic story.
There were articles such as stuffed toys and bags of animal characters, hats, mufflers, gloves, boots and parasols. The minor figures and other accessories were both pretty and cute.
* Emily Temple Cute
* Hypercore
* Qutie Frash
* Hide Rock
* Listen Flavor
* Super Lovers
* Sixh
* Ozz Croce
* Peace Now
* Black Peace Now
* Sexy Dynamite London
* Algonquins
There were also some live shows between attractions, namely:
* Kanon Wakeshima
This was produced by Mana, a well-known character in the Gothic-Lolita world. He sang with a guitar while the audience listened quietly.
*Jealkb
This is a visual rock band belonging to the Yoshimoto Kogyo stable (a comedy production company).
At the request of the emcee, the audience all stood up to enliven the atmosphere. The live performance put more emphasis on speaking than on music.
* Plastic Tree
This is a visual rock band that made its major debut in 1997.
Ryutaro Arimura is a vocalist who works as a model for Gadget Grow (a sister brand of Peace Now) and has a series of essays published in the magazine Kera, as well as writing books.
The fans were enthusiastic, and each song seemed to have its own predetermined choreography.
I was taken aback when I saw a decent-looking young girl, who had been watching the performances quietly until that point, abruptly stand up in a trance with tangled hair.
On the other hand, a number of people sat reactionless, as if saying, “This band is quite a new name for us.” Despite participating in the same event, they seemed to have little interest in helping to get things going. They appeared to have little concern for the business of others; they like to submerge themselves in their own world and live single-mindedly according to their own values.
It truly was a world of wonder.
Here, the values of Gothic, Lolita and Punk (such as aestheticism, fantasy, mystery, decadence and antisociality) fused marvelously with the value of kawaii (cuteness) that symbolizes Japanese fashion, and formed what could be called a healthy decadence.
I felt that this delicate tuning is one of the secrets of Gothic Lolita’s popularity.
The impressions of the adult women who watched the fashion display together were:
* It had an impact.
* Items were not overpriced.
* These were original Japanese fashions that are not seen abroad.
* The fashions are suitable for foreigners, who tend to have larger bodies.
She was the youngest ever at 22, a first-generation fellow of the Vantan Design Institute's Atelier(バンタンデザイン研究所 ) X-seed project for talented young designers.
(Vantan News) The program provides promotional opportunities and business counseling to help young designers get on track. Aguri Sagimori designed a lot of works, and won a lot of prizes here.
The Tokyo fashion industry is seeking to differentiate itself from Paris and Milan as a gateway to the world of fashion.
(Vantan News)
Aguri Sagimori is sure to play an important role in the TOKYO fashion.
Aguri Sagimori PROFILE
(1985) born in Neyagawa-shi, Osaka (大阪府寝屋川市)
(2005) entered the Vantan Design Institute
(2007) joined the X-SEED Project
(2008) launched “AGURI SAGIMORI”brand
ジョハリの窓 (日本語） (74)
