The Affluence of the Sazae-san Era: What Technological Progress Has Taken Away
Introduction: Remembering the 'World That Closed at 7:00' Once More
Fifty years ago—
There were no convenience stores, and no supermarkets open late into the night.
The streets were lined with fishmongers, greengrocers, tofu shops, and dry cleaners,
people finished their shopping by the evening,
and by 7:00 PM, most shops had pulled down their shutters.
When they returned home, families gathered around the dinner table,
and the theme song of 'Sazae-san' played from the television.
That scene is not merely nostalgia.
It was an era when society moved in harmony with the 'rhythm of human life.'
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Chapter 1: The Happiness of a Time Without Convenience Stores or Smartphones
In the 1970s, there was still a 'quiet of the night' in Japanese cities.
People finished their work and returned home,
children did their homework, and mothers thought about the next day's menu.
The light spilling from the windows of homes made one feel the presence of human activity.
If one were to ask if that was an 'inconvenient era,' the answer would be no.
People found peace within limited time and space.
It was precisely because the shops closed that there was a reason to return home.
It was precisely because working hours were limited that "family time" was born.
The economy was much smaller than it is today, but
the depth of human relationships supported the richness of society.
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Chapter 2: Small Pleasures of the "Extraordinary"
"A father stopping for a drink on his way home from work"—
that was not an act of neglecting his family, but
a margin of space to enjoy a small, extraordinary moment.
There was a clear demarcation of the day, and
working and resting were properly separated.
Having a quick drink with colleagues,
and laughing together as they said, "Let's do our best again tomorrow" on the way home.
That was a human-like balance.
It was not a world like today, where work emails arrive until late at night,
and smartphones ring even on days off.
Work could be left at the office when heading home.
That was "freedom."
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Chapter 3: An Era When Society Adapted to People
In Japan at that time, the Large-Scale Retail Store Act (1973)
restricted the opening of large supermarkets.
This was not merely a law to protect small and medium-sized shops,
but also wisdom for maintaining local communities.
You knew the shopkeeper's face, there was conversation with customers,
and trust was born in exchanges like "I'll give you a little extra."
More than the exchange of money, human relationships were the value.
In today's 24-hour society,
the "boundaries of time" have vanished behind the convenience.
In exchange for becoming more convenient,
people have lost the time to rest as human beings.
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Chapter 4: What Was the "Sazae-san Worldview"?
The Sazae-san household is not particularly wealthy.
It is an ordinary middle-class family.
However, there was a "gentle overlap" of people's lives there.
You could hear the voices of neighbors, the scent of dinner would drift by,
and the laughter of children echoed through the streets.
The charm of that anime is not just nostalgia,
but an empathy for "an era when the rhythm of society and the breath of people were in sync."
Modern "efficiency society"
has destroyed this rhythm of breathing.
In exchange for convenience,
we have lost the "time to savor life."
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Chapter 5: An Anomaly in Human History — The Civilization Disease Called "Karoshi" (Death from Overwork)
It is said that in the hunter-gatherer societies where our human ancestors lived,
the labor time required to survive was only about three to four hours a day.
The remaining time was devoted to eating, talking, raising children, praying, and resting.
In other words,the natural rhythm of humans was that "time spent resting was longer than time spent working."However,
as civilization progressed,
the purpose shifted from "working to live" to "working to adapt to society,"
and labor was swapped from a "means of living" to a "condition of existence."
And today,
For the first time in history, humanity has become a creature that 'works itself to death'.
**Karoshi (death from overwork) is a 'civilizational anomaly' not anticipated in the process of evolution.**
Originally, technology was meant to liberate people, but
we have lost our time because of that technology,
and have transformed into a 'species that drives itself'.
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Chapter 6: The Mainstream of the Universe is 'Stillness'
The mainstream of the world is not 'motion'.
Rather, 'stillness' is the essence of life and the universe.
No matter how harsh the era, plants have quietly taken root,
accepting the cycles of wind, light, and rain to continue living.
They do not compete, they make no sound, and yet they support the Earth.
The same is true when looking at the universe.
Though the stars appear to be burning,
the flow of their time is so slow and quiet that it exceeds human imagination.
Stillness is the 'mainstream' of the universe.
Only humans call moving fast 'progress'.
We mistake resting for laziness.
Yet, in the history of life, "creatures that are constantly busy" are actually the minority.
When human society forgot about "stillness,"
we may have fallen out of sync with the order of the universe and life itself.
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Final Chapter: Time is Dignity
Technology is not evil.
The problem is that humans have begun to live in accordance with technology.
Respecting the time to close shops,
and respecting the time for people to rest—
when we forgot those simple things, society began to break down.
What is needed now
is not a new app or an efficient system.
It is to reclaim a "culture where humans can rest."
In the era of Sazae-san, that still existed.
Working, eating, and laughing were all
"happiness that could be completed within a single day."
And so—
> Time, especially time spent with family,
cannot be bought, no matter how much money you offer.
A society that forgets this,
no matter how economically prosperous it may be,
has lost true happiness.
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Tanka
> In the silence, the stars breathe in the Lord
People rush and lose their way
(Commentary)
Both the universe and the Earth exist fundamentally based on "stillness."
Within that, only humans rush, compete, and try to outpace time.
Returning to "stillness" is the first step toward reclaiming civilization—that is the sentiment I have poured into this.
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Conclusion
Technological progress has certainly made people wealthier.
However, if asked whether it has enriched "human time," the answer is no.
Fifty years ago, people valued the order of life more than efficiency.
When night fell, shops closed and the city rested.
It was precisely because of that 'mechanism of stopping' that
people could pause, think, laugh, and spend time with their families.
And, from a broader perspective—
the universe itself is built upon 'stillness'.
Stillness is the order of life and the essence of time.
We need to listen to that silence once again.
That is the only way to reclaim our humanity.
#Showa #Labor #Family
#Technology #Stillness #Civilization #Sazae-san