4 ms·

Can you elaborate on the vice part? My mental image of Japan in that period is pretty conformist. Which kind of vice was rampant?

SuoDuanDao 5y ago
Probably sexual - the 'tentacle porn' stereotype must come from somewhere.
- kurthr 5y ago
  Well, it's at least 200 years old: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_of_the_Fisherman%27s_Wife https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_of_the_Fisherman%27s...
- baybal2 5y ago
  Not that in particular, it's Japan turning from an easy going, and simple society into a polar opposite, obsessed with profit, and stimulation like some worst gambling addicts
  - SuoDuanDao 5y ago
    That is surprising, given Japan's reputation pre-1945. I guess their equivalent of the baby boom generation was an outlier in terms of drive?
    - syntheweave 5y ago
      It was. The post-war conditions, with the cooperation of American occupying forces, made Japan scramble to reinvent itself from a militaristic industrial power(from the Meiji period until 1945) into a consumer corporate economy with strong export businesses, and it did so in a top-down collective fashion - which has made external observers remark things to the effect of "it seems like Japan is stuck in the 1950's", since the model remained in place, everything in lock-step, for decades. This can be studied through the history of the major companies that emerged from that period like the auto manufacturers(Toyota, Honda) and electronics companies(Casio, Philips, Sony, Roland and more). This culture is also reflected in more detail through prominent figures in the boom generation that came of age in the 70s, e.g. Hayao Miyazaki(animation) and Shigeru Miyamoto(games) - both extremely driven, fastidious types. The model worked and created the "economic miracle", but it also set the stage for an enormous property bubble in the 80s. I recommend reading "Japan, inc." to get a sense of the bubble period in the form of a manga focused on finance and economics. Ever since the bubble burst, Japan could be described as "unmotivated" - a combination of being chained to the structure of existing institutions and seeing demographic declines set in earlier than other nations. While the country is still known for a fastidious corporate culture, the demographics are catching up with it now and suggest what things will look like in countries facing population decline going forward.

SuoDuanDao 5y ago

Probably sexual - the 'tentacle porn' stereotype must come from somewhere.

kurthr 5y ago
Well, it's at least 200 years old: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_of_the_Fisherman%27s_Wife https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_of_the_Fisherman%27s...
baybal2 5y ago
Not that in particular, it's Japan turning from an easy going, and simple society into a polar opposite, obsessed with profit, and stimulation like some worst gambling addicts
- SuoDuanDao 5y ago
  That is surprising, given Japan's reputation pre-1945. I guess their equivalent of the baby boom generation was an outlier in terms of drive?
  - syntheweave 5y ago
    It was. The post-war conditions, with the cooperation of American occupying forces, made Japan scramble to reinvent itself from a militaristic industrial power(from the Meiji period until 1945) into a consumer corporate economy with strong export businesses, and it did so in a top-down collective fashion - which has made external observers remark things to the effect of "it seems like Japan is stuck in the 1950's", since the model remained in place, everything in lock-step, for decades. This can be studied through the history of the major companies that emerged from that period like the auto manufacturers(Toyota, Honda) and electronics companies(Casio, Philips, Sony, Roland and more). This culture is also reflected in more detail through prominent figures in the boom generation that came of age in the 70s, e.g. Hayao Miyazaki(animation) and Shigeru Miyamoto(games) - both extremely driven, fastidious types. The model worked and created the "economic miracle", but it also set the stage for an enormous property bubble in the 80s. I recommend reading "Japan, inc." to get a sense of the bubble period in the form of a manga focused on finance and economics. Ever since the bubble burst, Japan could be described as "unmotivated" - a combination of being chained to the structure of existing institutions and seeing demographic declines set in earlier than other nations. While the country is still known for a fastidious corporate culture, the demographics are catching up with it now and suggest what things will look like in countries facing population decline going forward.