Is Japan cool? And what makes it cool, nowadays?
Skyscrapers of Shinjuku district, Tokyo. From Wikimedia Commons, used for educational purposes.
Today is Coming-of-Age Day (Seijin no Hi – 成野の日) when those who are turning 20 in Japan dress up in kimono or in suits (or black dresses, every now and then), go to their local shrine for a ceremony congratulating them on the transition to adulthood, and then to their city office. Now that they are 20, these people can vote, drink alcohol, and also smoke – much like how ‘legal ages’ in other countries work – and often on this day have to listen to speeches of responsibility, or how not to lose their childlike wonder at things, and so on.
But maybe now, it’s time for “Cool Japan” to take a look at its own maturity. Where is it coming from? And where will it go?
In the Japan Times, Matt Alt wrote about “Cool Japan” and its systemic issues – the entrenched systems of production committees, and a focus not only on anime, but on such ‘soft power’ Japanese products like fashion and traditional crafts. Even though these other products – like fashion, or kimono, or washi paper or the game of go – are often related, this broad focus may be no focus at all, and so may end up hurting the efforts to revitalize Japanese exports of content across the board.
Arguably, “Cool Japan” happened in the United States around 1994-2004, with enough momentum that by the time Douglas MacGray’s article on its “Gross National Cool” came out in 2002, it was the name of a movement already happening. International media jumped on the name, seeing evidence for “cool Japan” everywhere, and so even the Japanese government started using the term “Cool Japan”. But does it mean the influence of Japan’s animation? Or something else?
As Roland Kelts pointed out in this essay, “Cool Japan” can point to nearly anything, and even when it is limited to animation, the animation industries and companies are virtually invisible outside of Japan. That is, overseas fans look at appearance or at the people who are most easily associated with the series – voice actors make the convention circuit rounds, as do high-profile bands or directors. But generally, the industries – and the work conditions associated with them – are invisible. You do not see translators unless they are academic guests (such as Gilles Poitras, Roland Kelts, Matt Alt, et al), and even with English-based branches or companies, there is a marked effort to educate English-speaking fans on how the industries (publication processes, licenses, etc) all work.
As for the Japanese industry side of things, finding information in English is possible (such as this series from ANN, and this brief piece on Kotaku) but can be difficult to find.
Will “Cool Japan” be chilled? Will fans – both overseas fans and Japanese fans – just want to move on? If certain properties were cool because they were “not from here”, because there was a whiff of the exotic, what happens when manga and anime are easily found and available? Or is the chill because there are now too many demands on time and attention on fans eager to consume?
Hopefully, we will see systemic changes, and overhauls – “Cool Japan” and its fans striding forward into a metaphorical sunrise, confident and awesome.