Japan

chagrined

I looked around and saw a man approaching with lots of discounted rice balls in his basket. “Irasshaimasé!” I called in exactly the same tone as before and bowed, then took the basket from him.

At that moment, for the first time ever, I felt I’d become a part in the machine of society. I’ve been reborn, I thought. That day, I actually became a

Little has been done in Europe with ash glazes, but in Japan the ash glaze has been a predominant feature of pottery since its use was first discovered in the Nara period. The desire for a nonuniform surface that can catch, in the glaze of each pot, the irregularities of nature hails back to the Japanese love of things that are imperfect and

The second one is for a brand to capitalize on the culture of social responsibility. Japanese have a great expression, kuuki wo yomu, which translates as “reading the atmosphere.” Products, brands, and ideas are more likely to succeed if consumers are already susceptible to them and are easily persuaded to invest their time and money in them.