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> The documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi has a poignant commentary on this. Jiro's oldest son is expected to eventually take over Jiro's sushi place, so as a resu

by ardy42 6y ago

> The documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi has a poignant commentary on this. Jiro's oldest son is expected to eventually take over Jiro's sushi place, so as a result essentially is toiling for his father into old age. On the other hand, somewhat ironically Jiro's younger son actually has more freedom, so he strikes out on his own pretty early and has his own very successful sushi joint. IIRC, that's wrong. The documentary said that Japanese tradition is that the eldest son inherits the father's business. Jiro has two sons, so he created a clone of his business for the second. They're literally exactly the same layout except mirror images of each other. The poignant thing that I remember is that the person who actually made the sushi for the reviewer who made the restaurant famous was not Jiro, but his son. And the wondrous thing was that the enterprise wasn't about chasing fame or fortune, but about being dedicated to excelling at a craft.

lazyant 6y ago
The poignant thing that I remember (possibly mis-remembering exact numbers) is that in 20 or 30 years Jiro had only taken one day off from work, to attend his father's funeral.
Cthulhu_ 6y ago
Your last sentence is what I often feel about (usually) Japanese arts and crafts, but I always get a pang of jealousy of sorts, because I don't feel like I or anyone in "the west" can live like that - sure, there's sayings like "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" and all, but in reality, we all need to earn a living, contribute to society, and somehow min/max everything we do - maximize profits, minimize efforts and cost. Closest thing we have are the arts, and there's the meme about the starving artist here because most artists struggle to get by, or end up having to do commissions for others (I hear furry porn is lucrative) so they don't get to do what they want. Meanwhile in Japan you get 1000 year old roadside snack shops, brushmakers, a watchmaker that spends a year holed up in his apartment to produce a single watch, etc. That's the 'PR' side of Japan anyway, on the other there's the 14-hour workday wage slaves.
- samatman 6y ago
  I'm glad you included that last sentence. The West includes the Amish, where inheriting your father's farm, and with it a centuries old tradition, is the norm. Meanwhile, Japan underwent modernity just like everyone else, and there, the modal (male) life story is: get a lifetime job straight out of college, and work insane hours for the rest of your life, or don't, and never get a job worth having. There's a lot to learn from Japan, particularly about excellence in craftsmanship, and it's easy to romanticize this, particularly for those of us from countries which are only a couple hundred years old. But I've been to a pub in Nottingham, ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to have been founded in 1189 (superb ale by the way). Swiss watchmakers, French cognac distillers, Chartreuse, even Harvard: all of these things are closer to that tradition of continuity and and craftsmanship than the starving artist stereotype.

by ardy42 6y ago

lazyant 6y ago

The poignant thing that I remember (possibly mis-remembering exact numbers) is that in 20 or 30 years Jiro had only taken one day off from work, to attend his father's funeral.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

Your last sentence is what I often feel about (usually) Japanese arts and crafts, but I always get a pang of jealousy of sorts, because I don't feel like I or anyone in "the west" can live like that - sure, there's sayings like "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" and all, but in reality, we all need to earn a living, contribute to society, and somehow min/max everything we do - maximize profits, minimize efforts and cost. Closest thing we have are the arts, and there's the meme about the starving artist here because most artists struggle to get by, or end up having to do commissions for others (I hear furry porn is lucrative) so they don't get to do what they want. Meanwhile in Japan you get 1000 year old roadside snack shops, brushmakers, a watchmaker that spends a year holed up in his apartment to produce a single watch, etc. That's the 'PR' side of Japan anyway, on the other there's the 14-hour workday wage slaves.

samatman 6y ago
I'm glad you included that last sentence. The West includes the Amish, where inheriting your father's farm, and with it a centuries old tradition, is the norm. Meanwhile, Japan underwent modernity just like everyone else, and there, the modal (male) life story is: get a lifetime job straight out of college, and work insane hours for the rest of your life, or don't, and never get a job worth having. There's a lot to learn from Japan, particularly about excellence in craftsmanship, and it's easy to romanticize this, particularly for those of us from countries which are only a couple hundred years old. But I've been to a pub in Nottingham, ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to have been founded in 1189 (superb ale by the way). Swiss watchmakers, French cognac distillers, Chartreuse, even Harvard: all of these things are closer to that tradition of continuity and and craftsmanship than the starving artist stereotype.