In pursuing a ‘way,’ Japanese typically move beyond an interest in craftsmanship to a kind of sacred search for the ultimate.
Girly’ products can spur Japan’s growth in this century every bit as much as, if not more than, the ‘manly’ technologies.
The new fans of Japan won’t be Orientalists, but they will be anime-savvy.
At the root of Japanese manufacturing lies a feminine delicacy and shyness as well as a childlike curiosity and fantasy-filled worldview.