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Japan's Paper Culture

jetpens.com

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Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#31

Post by JohnBooty »

sombremesa wrote: post #14
JohnBooty wrote: post #7

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison. Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their co…

> Japan is, of course, just a place. 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

When writing that sentence, I had hoped it would be clear that I (a) was describing my naive childhood perspective and (b) was employing some lighthearted hyperbole.

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.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#32

Post by JohnBooty »

nyolfen wrote: post #28
JohnBooty wrote: post #7

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison. Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their co…

appreciating is not something ‘genuinely harmful’

Yeah, I agree. Appreciating = great.

I would certainly hope that there is fairly large and self-evident gulf between appreciating and fetishizing.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#33

Post by romwell »

I've been ordering from Jet Pens for about a decade now.

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.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#34

Post by JohnBooty »

rayiner wrote: post #29
JohnBooty wrote: post #7

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison. Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their co…

> 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. 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 Yo…

Very well-said.

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.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#35

Post by cbfrench »

bluedino wrote: post #12

I have no affiliation with jetpens - but if you are into pens at all, buy one of their sampler packs. 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).

Been spending (too much?) money there for years. Wonderful outfit.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#36

Post by JohnBooty »

eru wrote: post #23
whoevercares wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Chinese my friends and I are always amazed by the contemporary Japanese art, music and movies. I attributed the success partially to the democratic system and remain hopeful for our own culture. Their cultural marketing is also great

Japan had interesting art and culture before their modern political system, which largely stems from post WWII. 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.wiki…

    there's a reasonable argument to be made that constraints 
    are what drives creativity
It has often been said that budgetary and technical constraints were the genesis of many of the visual trademarks we see in Japanese anime/manga. I am no expert (just a fan for many years) but certainly of the belief that this is the case.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#37

Post by unmole »

rayiner wrote: post #29
JohnBooty wrote: post #7

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison. Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their co…

> 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. 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 Yo…

> My acquaintance dug into some 400 years of Japanese history to explain why it had less problems with corruption than China, next door.

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.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#38

Post by JohnBooty »

colechristensen wrote: post #27
JohnBooty wrote: post #7

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison. Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their co…

One of the things attractive about Japan is that it actually does have a lot of unique culture in a world otherwise somewhat dominated by a global culture, when you are actually different there are bound to be several things about your culture which others see in awe. 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 thou…

Yeah. It's depressing when you fly 3,000 miles across America and hey, there's another shopping certain with an Applebees and a Target, exactly like the place you just left.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#39

Post by swsieber »

unmole wrote: post #37
rayiner wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. 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 Yo…

> My acquaintance dug into some 400 years of Japanese history to explain why it had less problems with corruption than China, next door. 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.

I dunno. That suggests that it's not culture and it's not geography... So what's left? Genetics and history? I'd pick history, the accumulation of aggregate choices.

Re: Japan's Paper Culture

#40

Post by [deleted] »

JohnBooty wrote: post #7

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison. Japan is, of course, just a place. The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their co…

[deleted]
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