Journal Article Review: Cultural Influence on Japanese Obsession with Packaging

Alright from the previous post, we know that Japan produces a pretty high amount of municipal waste. But why? The answer lies in Japanese obsession with packaging. Japan’s fetish over packaging can be traced back to its cultural and religious beliefs. In this post, I will be doing a literature review on an article (refer to Refernce section) written by a famous Japanese philosopher, Yuriko Saito. The paper explains how cultural values shapes Japanese appreciation for packaging.

Items are packaged to emphasize an appeal of the concealed, or allure of the hidden/ obscured. This is known as miegakure in Japanese language, which means ‘now you see it, now you don’t’. This attraction for the concealed stems from Japanese religious belief in Shintoism, that I have discussed in my earlier blog posts. For a recap, believers of Shinto acknowledge that deity, or kami, resides in natural objects and are usually hidden from view. Hence, a spiritual connection exists over the appreciation of the hidden.

The author describes packaging as a physical object that exists in space; and the experience of handling the package is a temporal dimension. Choreographing this temporal sequence can then enhance one’s aesthetic experience of unwrapping. Saito reasons that items are wrapped for the recipient to derive an aesthetic pleasure from pursuing the hidden. When the emotive and imaginative faculties are engaged, feelings of anticipation cum longing are stirred, as the person is enticed to unwrap the parcel. While the recipient enjoys the process of opening the package, this multisensory experience increases the joy of anticipation. When the object is well packaged, it reflects the sensitivity and sincerity of the packer, whom designs the temporal experience for the recipient. As quoted from the article, “Japanese believe that the feelings of respect or gratitude of either the presenter or the seller of the package are revealed in the way in which he has wrapped it” (Yokoyama, 1989). Packaging is thus a vehicle for communication, reflecting the presenter’s moral values (eg thoughtfulness and considerateness).

Another interesting point noted by the author is that Japanese packaging manifests an attitude of respect and humility for nature. The sensitive and respective selection of wrapping materials is based on its native function. For example, paper lends itself to be folded, twisted, layered and torn; bamboo stalk to be woven; straw for tying, etc. This careful utilization of wrapping materials shows that one is ready and willing to listen to nature’s own design or dictate. Such humility is then traced back to Shintoism, which recognizes the sacredness of every object.

In conclusion, the purpose and process of packaging links back to religious beliefs of the Shinto. The practice of wrapping dates back to the past and has since became a social norm, ingrained in Japan’s culture.  

References

Saito, Yuriko. 'Japanese Aesthetics Of Packaging'. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 57.2 (1999): 257. Web.

Tadashi Yokoyama, "Wrapping and Boxes," in Pack-age Design in Japan (Koln: Taschen, 1989), p. 9.