Rethinking Japanese Luxury （3）："Japaneseness" in the Global Marketing of Traditional Crafts

As traditional crafts aim to expand into the global market, the inherent nature of Japanese aesthetics makes them somewhat challenging to position within a global lifestyle. Personally, I have experienced situations where an item with a distinctly Japanese design, purchased in Japan, ends up feeling out of place in a European setting, ultimately going unused. As mentioned earlier, Japanese design tends to be more understated and less emotionally expressive, making it less immediately striking. This cultural difference in artistic expression itself could be considered a defining characteristic of "Japanese aesthetics." 

Indeed, these images are well-established and widely recognized as part of Japanese culture worldwide, and they resonate strongly with contemporary aesthetics today—it's a brilliant strategic approach. One approach to leveraging this unique quality is through concepts such as "pared-down luxury," as well as Japan's distinctive sense of inner, spiritual beauty—exemplified by wabi-sabi—along with an obsession with fine details, simplicity, negative space, and the appreciation of impermanence. 

That being said, Japan is also home to more visually striking forms of expression, such as ukiyo-e and anime, characterized by boldness, unconventional color schemes, and a distinct lack of depth in the Western sense. In my view, these too represent a facet of Japanese aesthetics. Currently, they seem to be more widely recognized on the global stage than wabi-sabi-driven design, yet they are often categorized as art or popular culture rather than luxury.

One of the complexities of traditional crafts is their ambiguous position between luxury and art. While the luxury industry increasingly integrates art, crafts often seem to lack something essential to be fully classified as either.

Perhaps this is why "Japanese-ness" is frequently used as a selling point. However, upon closer examination, Japanese aesthetics are incredibly diverse—wabi-sabi is just one facet, not the entirety of Japan’s artistic sensibility. To be honest, I find the strong self-consciousness around what is considered “Japanese” rather curious. From a personal perspective, framing a work from the outset within the confines of “traditional Japanese craft” or “Japanese beauty” feels somewhat limiting. Is it truly effective from a marketing standpoint to reduce it to such labels? While they may ultimately be labeled as "Japanese," we feel that confining them within the framework of Japanese traditional crafts or Japanese aesthetics risks limiting their potential.

Though such keywords may still be useful in marketing, we prefer to focus on the human quality behind the work rather than simply branding ourselves as a traditional Japanese craft store. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, our pieces offer something deeply human — born of touch, not code.