Tokyo Shift

Japan's creativity paradox

Oct 20, 2009 23:58

Having lived for a while in China where creating often involves making an alternative spelling for an existing brand, I expected something far different when I came to Japan. Kicking out more awesome gadgets than any other nation, Japan (I thought) surely must have way more innovative, entrepreneurial types.

And while I reckon this is true to an extent, I've come to think of Japan's collective creativity as being somewhat of a paradox. Mind you, I'm still learning about this place, so stick with me for a sec...

I met a man a few weeks back. He was in his mid-60s, a retired "salary-man" who was now spending his golden years looking after his house, his garden, and his grandkids. We were chatting over a couple of beers when he asked me what I did for a living. I told him I do a lot of freelance work. He nodded, and the conversation drifted elsewhere and meandered until the end of the night when we got up to leave. With a somber tone I've heard only at funerals, he said to me as he shook my hand: "I hope you make the transition from freelance to stable very soon."�

I left the bar contemplating my instability, and thanks to the beers, suddenly felt in need of a kickstand. But that's another story...

As most of you know, companies in Japan are known for taking care of their employees for a lifetime. And while I was quite aware of the "salary-man" phenomenon long before I came to Japan, I was somewhat taken aback that working for yourself or being entrepreneurial was frowned upon by many. But that certainly seems to be the case.�

There appears to be a duality to the Japanese culture. On one side of the street there are the suited worker bees, while on the other side you may see a girl in Alice in Wonderland cosplay attire. A salary-man on the train may look all business-like, until he pulls out his favorite manga or Nintendo DS.

These two seemingly polar-opposite cultural tendencies have left me scratching my head more than once. I still can't fully explain it. But that's ok, I'll leave it to the anthropologists.�

Nevertheless, it does bring a huge smile to my face when I see the ways that the "Imaginative Japan" injects life into the "Business Japan". While discussing the current augmented reality boom with my friend Julien, he speculated that every AR company likely began with somebody watching an episode of Dennou Coil. It's undeniable that Japan certainly has a flair for bringing the imaginary to life, be it a full-size Gundam, Tetsujin, or some wacky Hatsune Miku projects.

My new personal favorite is the crazy flying panties from the anime Sora no Otoshimono, which have now been made real by some really creative dude with way too much time on his hands.

Meh. Enough overanalyzing. Maybe it's best just to sit back and enjoy the show.

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