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I remember this was one thing that really made an impact on me about Japan when I went there as an exchange student. "Even their manholes are thoroughly done a

I remember this was one thing that really made an impact on me about Japan when I went there as an exchange student. "Even their manholes are thoroughly done and look amazing! What is even going on!?" They can still make me smile every now and again when I visit, and I really admire the "Japanese sense of" (I don't know if it's particular to Japan) putting lots of effort into something seemingly mundane; putting effort into something which yields no practical return on investment. I wish there was more of this artisanship in the everyday city-life around us, to keep remind us how lovely life can really be. It's easy to forget sometimes.

spectramax 8y ago
I think you'll enjoy Junichiro Tanizaki's essay: "In Praise of Shadows"[1] on Japanese aesthetics - from toilet design to art of Kintsukuroi. If you haven't read it, it was written more than 50 years ago[2] and still stands true about the Japanese aesthetic culture - it is amazing. [1][PDF] http://wwwedu.artcenter.edu/mertzel/spatial_scenography_1/Class%20Files/resources/In%20Praise%20of%20Shadows.pdf http://wwwedu.artcenter.edu/mertzel/spatial_scenography_1/Cl... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Shadows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Shadows
- GuiA 8y ago
  I read this book recently and... yeah. It’s filled with stuff like him bemoaning how “western” chemistry and the periodic table of elements are, and speculating about how “Japanese physics” would be. Oh and that’s not getting into the whole BS about purity and skin color he gets into. It’s nihonjinron at its finest. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihonjinron https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihonjinron
Spearchucker 8y ago
Never has "because I can" applied more to a single nation. And it's all the more refreshing where things in the West only happen if there's a hustle behind it.
- zwkrt 8y ago
  I disagree. The US is "because I can". Japan is "because I should".
coldtea 8y ago
>I wish there was more of this artisanship in the everyday city-life around us, to keep remind us how lovely life can really be. It's easy to forget sometimes. Modern cities and buildings are all about quick bucks and ROI. Even our costly monumental works (museums and such) are built by inflated-ego architects for the bucks, and with no sense of public beauty -- just their modernist or post-modernist personal ideology. That's one thing that gets me about people suggesting to others to "just move" to find a job, and that they don't have to have any ties to any place (e.g. their home state). In the end, this means treating every place as a temporary residency, sort of like a hotel, and having no civic concern and pride in it. In other words, it ends with ugly cities and dystopias. The inverse would be the pride with which people like old New Yorkers loved their city (and of course old Europeans cities like Vienna, Paris, and so on).
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  Yes, this is very true and I think hints at the reason why those manhole covers can exist in Japan, whereas they'd be unthinkable in North America. The notion would be laughed out of any city budget here.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    >The notion would be laughed out of any city budget here. An ironic thing is that, not caring about immediate ROI and budget justifications in the past (and investing in public parks, nice buildings, etc), is what makes some cities tons of money (from millions of tourists every year). Will ever a new city (born under the "quick ROI is everything/who cares for beauty" mindset) be as nice as to attract visitors in the future? I seriously doubt so. (Shanghai, which is largely built lately, was also an treasure of a city for many centuries, and spends a lot in the impressiveness -if not construction quality- of its modern buildings and skyline).
    - sonnyblarney 8y ago
      With cities I don't think it's 'ROI' so much utility and pressing budgetary needs. There is always a war over budget. There are 10 projects that 'they'd like to do but can't'. Every city wants more buses, has potholes, has sewage problems, needs infrastructure. 'Pretty manholes' might not make it to the top unless someone really, really cares. Or it's part of a secondary budget.
Retric 8y ago
This has real upsides, but it’s a large part of why poverty is such an issue in Japan. It’s GDP was higher in 1995 for many reasons, but forgoing efficiency has real costs.
foobar1962 8y ago
> ... putting effort into something which yields no practical return on investment That can be applied to the Sydney Opera House, though on a slightly different scale. I've started making the trip by ferry to Circular Quay to have a coffee at a cafe by the water. The Opera House an amazing building and I marvel at the political will required to get it started (and finished). It took 14 years to complete and went 14 times over budget. It had a lottery created to pay for it! The nearby Harbour Bridge is another construction that went further than was necessary at the time. Both are spectacular.

spectramax 8y ago

I think you'll enjoy Junichiro Tanizaki's essay: "In Praise of Shadows"[1] on Japanese aesthetics - from toilet design to art of Kintsukuroi. If you haven't read it, it was written more than 50 years ago[2] and still stands true about the Japanese aesthetic culture - it is amazing. [1][PDF] http://wwwedu.artcenter.edu/mertzel/spatial_scenography_1/Class%20Files/resources/In%20Praise%20of%20Shadows.pdf http://wwwedu.artcenter.edu/mertzel/spatial_scenography_1/Cl... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Shadows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Shadows

GuiA 8y ago
I read this book recently and... yeah. It’s filled with stuff like him bemoaning how “western” chemistry and the periodic table of elements are, and speculating about how “Japanese physics” would be. Oh and that’s not getting into the whole BS about purity and skin color he gets into. It’s nihonjinron at its finest. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihonjinron https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihonjinron

Spearchucker 8y ago

Never has "because I can" applied more to a single nation. And it's all the more refreshing where things in the West only happen if there's a hustle behind it.

zwkrt 8y ago
I disagree. The US is "because I can". Japan is "because I should".

coldtea 8y ago

>I wish there was more of this artisanship in the everyday city-life around us, to keep remind us how lovely life can really be. It's easy to forget sometimes. Modern cities and buildings are all about quick bucks and ROI. Even our costly monumental works (museums and such) are built by inflated-ego architects for the bucks, and with no sense of public beauty -- just their modernist or post-modernist personal ideology. That's one thing that gets me about people suggesting to others to "just move" to find a job, and that they don't have to have any ties to any place (e.g. their home state). In the end, this means treating every place as a temporary residency, sort of like a hotel, and having no civic concern and pride in it. In other words, it ends with ugly cities and dystopias. The inverse would be the pride with which people like old New Yorkers loved their city (and of course old Europeans cities like Vienna, Paris, and so on).

sonnyblarney 8y ago
Yes, this is very true and I think hints at the reason why those manhole covers can exist in Japan, whereas they'd be unthinkable in North America. The notion would be laughed out of any city budget here.
- coldtea 8y ago
  >The notion would be laughed out of any city budget here. An ironic thing is that, not caring about immediate ROI and budget justifications in the past (and investing in public parks, nice buildings, etc), is what makes some cities tons of money (from millions of tourists every year). Will ever a new city (born under the "quick ROI is everything/who cares for beauty" mindset) be as nice as to attract visitors in the future? I seriously doubt so. (Shanghai, which is largely built lately, was also an treasure of a city for many centuries, and spends a lot in the impressiveness -if not construction quality- of its modern buildings and skyline).
  - sonnyblarney 8y ago
    With cities I don't think it's 'ROI' so much utility and pressing budgetary needs. There is always a war over budget. There are 10 projects that 'they'd like to do but can't'. Every city wants more buses, has potholes, has sewage problems, needs infrastructure. 'Pretty manholes' might not make it to the top unless someone really, really cares. Or it's part of a secondary budget.

Retric 8y ago

This has real upsides, but it’s a large part of why poverty is such an issue in Japan. It’s GDP was higher in 1995 for many reasons, but forgoing efficiency has real costs.

foobar1962 8y ago

> ... putting effort into something which yields no practical return on investment That can be applied to the Sydney Opera House, though on a slightly different scale. I've started making the trip by ferry to Circular Quay to have a coffee at a cafe by the water. The Opera House an amazing building and I marvel at the political will required to get it started (and finished). It took 14 years to complete and went 14 times over budget. It had a lottery created to pay for it! The nearby Harbour Bridge is another construction that went further than was necessary at the time. Both are spectacular.