Noto Japan

I have been to Japan a lot for a 27 year-old. I have visited maybe a dozen times. It was the first place I went overseas as a child, thanks to my mother’s love of the country. My great uncle fought in the war against the Japanese and could not understand her love for Japan when she was my age. But the war was long ago now and, like Australia, what Japan “is” has changed. Japan “is” cool; Japan “is” advanced; Japan “is” exotic.¹

The Japanese Flag #

The old one was better – I think the brighter red looks a little commercial. The flag itself is very good, and posed a problem when I was trying to make a flag for Vekllei. It is so simple and pure as an arrangement of shapes and colour, and trying to imitate it inevitably comes off as cheap and superficial. My reaction some years ago was to try and outdo the Japanese flag by removing any kind of form entirely – just have a pure field of colour, a plain red. The Vekllei flag has changed since, but my envy has basically remained. A very good flag.

Canals & Gutters #

Fashion & Clothing #

Japanese people dress very well. Out of all the people in the world they probably dress the best. Not because they dress neatly, or formally, but because they still put some effort in and the culture has been shaken up enough to allow for alternative or countercultural styles. Many countries in East Asia, like Korea and China, dress well by the metrics of taste and effort – quality clothes that fit well and are arranged neatly. But they are such a strong indicator of wealth and status that they can become repulsive. Until China and Korea pass through this phase of aspirational consumption they will look too manufactured and conspicuous.

There is no single Japanese fashion any more than there is a single Korean or Chinese fashion, but there is a look to it. Standard womenswear includes blouses, long skirts and often a cardigan or jacket. They wear pretty shoes and sandals, usually with hosiery or fancy socks. Not many have bare shoulders. Standard menswear is usually a tee shirt and trousers with an earthy coloured jacket. Japanese men do not usually wear shorts except on holiday. Younger people wear more branded clothes and good sneakers. Older people wear hats or towels to keep the heat off.

Workwear is from the twentieth century. The suit is still a default but the tie is not as common as it was. Men often wear loafers and often fill out a suit poorly as they rush around looking sweaty and dishevelled on the train. Women also wear suits, and sometimes pant suits, but the suits look more androgynous and are not cut as aggressively feminine as pant suits in the west.

You see a lot of alt stuff too these days. People will spice up the standard outfits with Cool pieces like platform sneakers or short-cut trousers. Like a lot of Asia there’s a strange confluence of culture going on. Tight braids in the black American/Carib style seems popular and I saw a woman dressed in a doo rag with socks pulled high like a cholo. That’s cool – I like to see culture dislocated and recreated in new and strange ways. Grunge is big too, with baggy jeans and wallet chains. Those elements contribute a lot to Japanese fashion as it compares to its neighbours and I think the existence of an extant, but more importantly, historic counterculture is the reason for it.

Uniforms #

Japan is famous for its uniforms and I like uniforms. Maybe it ties into a cultural attraction to systematisation, or a desire for control; regardless many people find them interesting. Construction workers wear jumpsuits and small round helmets almost regardless of what they are doing, which look good and should be the international standard. Generally uniforms are superior in Japan, with a few exceptions. Train conductors wear jackets and ties or smart shirts with the sleeves rolled up in hot weather. Hats discarded from overseas fashion feature in many uniforms. White gloves are ubiquitous in service and transport industries. Because their uniforms generally look good they are also hard to wear poorly, and reflect well on the authority and character of these industries. There can be discontinuity, especially with the deferential and obsequious mannerisms of service industries undermine a uniform that typically denotes authority in the West, but generally whatever purpose a uniform can be said to serve is served very well in Japan.

School uniforms are interesting. Of course, they an icon of Japanese culture and a brand overseas. They are a staple of Japanese media, which is preoccupied with high school and high schoolers. Japan had a really good thing going with the later versions of the traditional uniform, which included a sailor collar and skirt for girls and a turned up dark military-jacket and cap for boys. They are very distinct and interesting visually, as pieces of design. Now, however it is much more common to see ties, blazers and jumpers as the norm, which brings with it a variety of awful swatches and tartans. The boys don’t wear those jackets anymore, and the sailor collar is less common and usually associated with middle schoolers. The new style is less interesting and unique.

Polite Society #

Japan is a very polite society in the sense that it is abundant with honourifics and deferential mannerisms. But Australians thank the bus driver, even if they’re alighting from the back door. So I suppose it depends how you frame manners. Is it a rigid system of titles and procedures? Or is it a friendliness and warmth with strangers? I think everyone should thank the bus driver.