Japan's Paper Culture(jetpens.com) |
Japan's Paper Culture(jetpens.com) |
Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their country and society have plenty of problems, just like any other. There is nothing magical about Japan or any other place.
However. If all that remains of their civilization in 10,000 years is a curiously well-preserved Japanese stationary store, perhaps buried Pompei-style and frozen in time... future historians may conclude otherwise.
Japan, by your own description, isn’t just a place. It’s the place of a people who share a long and deep culture. If you substituted New Yorkers for Japanese in Tokyo, it wouldn’t be like Tokyo for very long! (Feeling like a “clumsy, nasty barbarian” is certainly an apropos description of how I feel returning to New York after visiting Tokyo.)
Most Japanese wouldn’t describe Japan as “just a place.” A Japanese acquaintance of mine (a law professor) and I were once discussing the issue of government corruption in Asia. My acquaintance dug into some 400 years of Japanese history to explain why it had less problems with corruption than China, next door.
Of course it’s not “magical”—just as there is nothing magical about Apple under Steve Jobs. But it is an achievement—the achievement of a group of people who share a particular culture. When my dad was born in 1951, Japan had a GDP per capita (adjusted for purchasing power) similar to Bangladesh’s today. Within a generation they had become a first world country. You shouldn’t fetishize their culture, but it’s okay to marvel at their achievement!
I certainly do not mean that Japan is "just a place" in the sense that the nasty, slightly unkempt area behind my garage is "just a place." Japan is the sum of thousands of years of culture and achievement. I truly marvel at many things about Japan.
I did my best (in my admittedly hurried and casual post) to be clear that fetishization is what was to be avoided, and not appreciation.
Often, particularly in the 90s/2000s, one would see Japan fetishized as some sort of magical place of technical advancements, weirdo tentacle porn, cute and submissive women, etc. That sucked for a number of reasons too obvious to type out. That's the sort of thing of which I'm dismissive, not the sort of informed and genuine appreciation you expressed.
Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong are closer to China in terms of both geography and culture without having problems with corruption. It's almost as if 400 years of history has very little to do with it.
That's a bit suspect considering a lot of pre-WW2 Japanese governments were based off Chinese models (not to mention, as another commenter mentioned, there are other examples of Asian governments with low corruption, maybe even less than Japan's). In China's case, if we're going back hundreds of years, I suspect the explanation is a bit more complex, you know, having to deal with all that sheer area in the age of horses, no natural sea barrier against foreigners, not to mention a population size that easily dwarfed Japan's (and most countries in the world).
One of the disappointing things (not that there aren’t awesome things) about traveling across the US is all the things which aren’t different even though separated by thousands of miles. I recently moved back to Minnesota from several years in California and often get the strange sense that I’m still there because I’m in an environment so familiar that I think I’m in Sunnyvale for a moment. (Walking through a shop or doing this or that… the snow though is a bit of a differentiator)
Their cultural marketing is also great
Btw, there's a reasonable argument to be made that constraints are what drives creativity. From my own experience, East Germany had much better political jokes than West Germany. Mostly because you didn't need a carefully worded joke in the West, you could just open a newspaper.
Compare also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo and http://d7.drunkenboat.com/db8/oulipo/feature-oulipo/para/oux...
(Just to be clear: I vastly prefer to live in a free society.)
You allude to this later in your comment, but it really isn't when it comes to paper (and to some extent, cardboard).
The irony in your comment re:fetishizing is that TFA talks of traditions whereas you say things like:
> She had supernaturally neat handwriting
I also hoped that the second paragraph would really drive that home, sans subtlety.
("Maybe they'll even think it's funny," I dreamed)
I therefore chose not to insult the reader by further clarifying that she was a pretty regular-ass person, not some kind of magical exotic creature. We were friends for quite a few years and folks tend not to be friends with weirdos that fetishize them.
I even heard her fart once (which would have really confirmed her non-ethereal nature) but she swore it was her seat making some kind of noise so let's give her the benefit of the doubt.
The author obviously has an appreciation for crafting advanced stylistic prose in English.
I imagine you'd send them the text and a sample of your handwriting, and they'd produce a neatened up version that's close enough to your handwriting that someone could believe you'd produced it with enough care.
(Cheaper versions would just give you a generic neat hand, without customising it to your own handwriting.)
It does show a certain kind of dedication I suppose.
As for the parent comment, I think he's alluding that pre-modern Japanese art and culture had a lot more overlap with pre-modern China's, which makes it somewhat less notable from a Chinese perspective (e.g. something like England vs Australia; different, but there's overlap).
But post WWII we see a massive divergence in cultural export and exchange (e.g. England or Australia vs the US). South Korea is another example (I've actually seen Japanese entertainment consortiums lamenting at the perception that the S. Korean entertainment industry seemed to be better funded and more able to export their culture). Just looking at Chinese history, the golden age of creativity and inventions seemed to occur when there were more freedoms (which I would argue is pretty much any era prior to the PRC since their control is unprecedented in conjunction with modern technology). Granted it was the olden times, so there were more things to be discovered, but it seemed like China back in the day was on a roll (off the top of my head, movable type, paper, matcha, bonsai, porcelain, celadon, silk, gunpowder)
I agree constraints can generate creativity, but
is there evidence that constraints generate more of it?
I think the strong general consensus is that the right kind of constraints can indeed foster innovation - think of the constraints imposed by, say, early video game consoles. Or forms of music that grew from various constraints - the energetic DIY ethos of punk, or how hiphop thrived within the constraints of working with turntables and early electronic tool vs. live instruments.
Of course, the kinds of constraints matter. I think you're talking about societal constraints. I would guess that they generally have a much more negative effect on creativity.
You seem to be throwing together all of pre-PRC China into one big blender?
There have been lots of different dynasties and long stretches when China was not unified. Many of these dynasties were more different from each other, than some dynasties might be from the PRC 'dynasty'.
Tossing all the achievements of thousands of years into one bin, and comparing them to what has been produced in the last few decades also seems a bit off.
Most (or all?) of the examples of inventions you describe predate the Qing dynasty.
The last emperors before the republic and later the communists were off the Qing dynasty.
China was perhaps at its biggest sophistication compared to the rest of the world during the precocious Song dynasty. See eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty#Economy
Song China was arguably the first 'modern' country in the world. Where 'modern' is used in the historian's sense of the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_history#Modern_history
there's a reasonable argument to be made that constraints
are what drives creativity
So, Japan doesn't have corruption because it hasn't had corruption for 400 years?
Interestingly, LKY was known as "Harry Lee" until he became active in politics, upon which he went by "Lee Kuan Yew" to apparently help endear himself to the local Chinese population. He took Mandarin lessons well into his old age as it wasn't the language he spoke at home. I think most of his counterparts overseas knew him as "Harry" (Thatcher, Kissinger, etc) and even his wife called him "Harry" per biographical accounts.
Lee was undoubtedly a product of the British system - an English-educated ethnically Chinese man, straddling both sides in order to navigate those early years.
You should check out the rest of their posts/articles. I’ve ended up on them before when trying to find out the difference in the types of inks and types of pens. I have always been really impressed by the quality of their articles. Really want to give them some cash so will wander over there in a bit.
Sadly, my writing has got worse and worse since my life has become more and more digital. I should really have a goal for 2022 to be able to write legibly once again. I can’t even read my own hand writing any more - it must just be the lack of practice and it’s very sad as people used to comment on how beautiful it was (decades ago). Now it looks like a Doctor’s prescription order!
I still write checks to pay bills (remember?). I have a timeline now of my handwriting and notice that it has deteriorated in periods of my life when I was under stress – sometimes unawares. But it has improved since retiring.
May be a component?
I like the juice up .3mm gel pens that write as well as a ball point but with a much finer point and ink that lasts for months.
Unfortunately, it does not come in orange anymore. I use 0.5 mm graphite, 0.7 mm blue ballpoint (most uses), and 1.0 mm black ballpoint. I've considered red ink instead of blue for a long time, but I'm not a teacher or accountant.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/978111954448...
I am finding that life without a smart phone in my pocket is palpably more pleasant — and without a smart phone, the utility of a notepad and pen increases quite a bit.
I don't like the look of a second monitor in my home office, so (yeah, Japanese) stationery are a more palatable alternative for me.
Wonder what recent tax law changes they’re referring to?
It's a great way to try out different styles of pens that you won't find at Staples or Walgreens (or the office supply closet).
pens that you won't find at Staples or Walgreens (or the
office supply closet)
Then I moved back to metropolitan France and all the teacher and kids where looking at me like an alien when I was picking all my stuff up before coming to the board ...
It goes back to when someone in the MIT student center asked to borrow a pen to fill out an ATM deposit slip, I had only a Cross pen engraved with my name and the first project team I was on, and I reluctantly handed it over while emphasizing that I needed it back...
I currently use paper for free-form drawings or diagrams for work as photographing a paper drawing is the most efficient process I currently have for getting such diagrams into emails/our wiki.
It almost looks like if you want to take notes this way you have to plan ahead to be sure to have space?
Not sure why you feel the need to plan ahead…? Just write and draw :)
Disclaimer: I work there.
An interesting tidbit is that some of the picking processes described in the video I linked to above were implemented only recently as COVID-19 simultaneously applied upward pressure on order volume (people shopping online more) and downward pressure on fulfillment capacity (warehouse worker density restrictions). We literally had to stop taking orders for a short while to keep the backlog of orders reasonable.
It was gratifying to apply things we learned from computer science and industrial engineering together to help us keep up with demand.
I also highly recommend kakimori, which builds custom notebooks that you can select all the parts for (binding, paper, cover, etc.). Really memorable experience, and it's in a quieter residential part of the city (but still fairly convenient/central) that feels very different from the usual tourist spots.
Tokyu Hands was acquired by a major DIY store.
don't worry, Business will continue.
I'm hoping they can bring them back, though, there's nothing to compare to. In the meantime, online shipping works fine for what they happen to offer on the website, and that stock has increased recently, which is encouraging.
I can recommend their luggage in particular, there's just nothing quite like it.
Don't get me wrong, I think the art work, Kanji and calligraphy is awesome, there are many amazing things about the 'paper culture' but, there are many drawbacks, especially in 2021 when the rest of the world has gone digital in so many areas.
It's worth also checking other sellers like www.tokyopenshop.com and jstationery.com, especially for older products or things that JetPens has run out of.
Shipping out of the USA can be pretty expensive. For larger and more popular items, there are sellers operating from Japan that sell through Amazon and manage to keep shipping charges more modest.
I never knew an eraseable pen could be so good. Midori paper is on another level.
I love jetpens. I'm trying out the Hobonichi Techo Weeks as a 2022 journal for more structure. But I'll always have a Midori MD for free flowing thoughts or sketches.
They even have an interesting video on how they organize and pack orders. https://youtu.be/1Bi2Xys-ces
> ...FriXion ink reappears if exposed to temperatures below 14F (-10C), like if it is placed in a freezer
I just tried that out by putting a scrap of paper into the freezer, it worked immediately! Funny & fascinating... :D
You can always import products yourself using a shipping forwarder like Tenso [0] or a purchase assistance service like Buyee [1].
[1]: https://buyee.jp/
That being said, it’s a really good notebook.
I recently found myself wanting to source some Japanese notebooks en-masse, as I prefer handwritten notes for meetings and general "thinking" work. I continually run out of notebooks at the worst possible times.
Instead, I ended up buying a Rocketbook. I thought I'd try it out, it wasn't a huge outlay (compared to, for example, ReMarkable). I've gone through the notebook quite a few times now, works quite well.
Rocketbooks definitely aren't perfect. The tactility is nowhere near that of fountain/paper. You must use Pilot Frixion pens. And you can only buy frixion pen inks in their insanely small and wasteful plastic cartridges (you cannot just buy a bottle of the ink, as far as I'm aware). I do sometimes wonder if it is better to fill up my recycle bin with paper, or fill up my garbage can with frixion cartridges.
But, I'm still not sure I'll go back to standard pen and paper any time soon for my daily notetaking.
Slightly off-topic but I'd be curious if any of you are Rocketbook "expats" or converts.
Edit: spelling, plus further thought on wastefulness.
Fun timing to run into this article, I have the pen and fresh ink sitting next to the converter as a nice project to work on during the intercalary week.
https://itoya.com/products/notebooks-journals/profolio-oasis...
also have a kyokuto side-bound wire notebook that has held up like a champ. The wire doesn't get mangled from jamming it into my backpack like some POS mead notebook would. Got it at the japanese paper store in japantown sf https://kencrooker.com/review-kyokuto/
Still I think from now on I'm going to stick with the magic lay-flat cloth bound.
one curious statement from the article:
> Despite Japan’s international reputation for using futuristic technology...
maybe in the 1980s? As late as a few years ago, it was rare for a hotel in japan to have wifi. They're lagging in tech now in several industries.
Many innovative pens and art supply you can find in the west came from Japan too.
It should be treated as such and not taken for granted.
review: https://www.penaddict.com/blog/2012/3/5/rotring-600-drafting...
jet pens: https://www.jetpens.com/Rotring-600-Drafting-Pencils/ct/1109
Best selection of Japanese fountain pens, fantastic notebooks, always a great experience.
Solid article, and glad to see them on the front page of HN.
Do Japanese paper companies make much use of recycled paper?
[brick-like codex aesthetic]: https://www.nerdforge.academy/fantasy-bookbinding-course , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_Wor...
https://sites.google.com/view/briem/free-books/handwriting-r...
First redo your grip, it probably sucks.
Then relearn the alphabet using that grip to the standard of your eye.
Then relearn to see the flaws in your handwriting in increasingly subtle ways and keep training to eliminate those flaws up to the standard of your eye.
If you have a university close by that's I think a decent place to start.
Calligraphy manuals may be interesting too but that is somewhat more decorative.
EDIT:
Also the storage is just too tiny. It's really the thing that aggravates me about it the most. (No, I won't cloud. I operate too often in environments with no outside net access. And if the whole point is to have everything on one compact device, I want everything on the device.)
In physical/tactile terms, it's a really impressive writing experience, but I've found the utility of that so constrained by the absence of indexing and navigation features that I don't use it for much besides occasional drawings. It turns out that navigating a physical notebook works in ways that flipping through electronic pages can't keep up with without a lot of work on the interface.
As an e-reader, recent updates to the rendering have made it usable, though there are still sometimes hassles with display and getting documents onto the device. It's theoretically great to be able to annotate PDFs, but in practice not being able to easily navigate the annotations later makes it substantially worse than writing notes in the margins of a paper book.
I'm sure a lot of this can be improved with 3rd-party hacks, but it isn't designed as a platform and it feels only grudgingly open to modification, which seems like a huge missed opportunity. (Not to mention being yet another product built on open code that doesn't return the favor.) Being able to SSH to the device and poke around the filesystem is cool, but it mostly feels like a glimpse into how much more utility the whole thing could offer.
I'll use mine as long as it works, but I'm unlikely to buy another one and I can't in good faith recommend it for most users. I do know several folks who are happy with the narrow range of things it's good at, which is why I bought it in the first place. Personally, I'm placing my hopes for a more useful-to-me e-ink future on devices like the PineNote.
Most people just get up and leave it there. Being homeless, losing anything expensive is going to ruin my year. It's the little things that give our social status away, even if we work and shower every day. Status illegibility is a key to climbing the ladder; going off on a bit of a tangent there, but indeed conformity in things like these is rational.
I used to get very anxious about leaving stuff laying around even amongst people I know wouldn't steal things (think like a meetup or something) and eventually got over it. If I'm concerned I'll ask someone if they can watch my stuff. It depends on where I'm at though obviously. I think in Columbus where I live most places you can do this and 99.9% of the time it would be fine. I don't begrudge someone who doesn't trust this though. I'm familiar with "if you lose contact with it, it's compromised".
> It's the little things that give our social status away
I'm not with you on this one. I don't think a single person at a coffee shop is looking at you like you're "of low social status" for taking your backpack to the bathroom. They probably just think you don't want your stuff stolen...
I wish the government would make it illegal to mail advertising mailers. But then the USPS, which has had funding purposely cut by those who want their privately held investments to win out in the postal game or just hate anything that is available for everyone, probably relies on a lot of the revenue that comes from those mailers. So it continues.
I've found it's basically impossible to get rid of receiving them.
It works really well (it has existed for decades), and many municipalities are now moving towards making this 'no sticker' the default! This means that if you want flyers, you have to put up a 'yes sticker' instead of having none, and without a sticker you won't get any. This opt-in approach has quite an impact on the amount of useless paper pushed around.
We don't have that in the US since it's part of the business model of the postal office or USPS to deliver ads in your mail box.
I've started an experiment with these: I just repost them in the postbox and see how many times they come back to me. You can always put them in the postbox with a 'return to sender' on it, but if you leave it as is it seems to come back to you like a paper boomerang. I've had one round-trip now for UberEats; I wonder at which point it'll get taken out of circulation?
With postage, letters still get delivered reliably, and postal workers seem fairly paid, but the parcel market is a cluster fuck of a small number of international parcel companies (some home grown from our former national postal service) that have done exactly what economic laws permitted them to do. They are somewhat regulated and high profile, so they came up with a system where subcontractors hire the actual delivery guys and own the vans and stuff (all in the parcel company's livery of course), and the parcel company pays them for each package delivered. Gradually the pay got worse due to competition, and those subcontractors that can survive either get paid too little under increasing pressure (due to covid leading to more packages ordered), or, as happened in Belgium this year, they hire illegal aliens and underpay them.
