Why Japanese things suddenly become popular overseas
Often, suddenly,
Japanese things become popular overseas.
I feel like this has been happening a lot lately with music, movies, and so on.
Until now, people thought these things
could only be understood by Japanese people,
so it's nice that they've become accepted somehow.
Everyone says, 'Has the world finally realized how good this is?'
but I wonder if that's really true.
In terms of music, for example,
it feels like whether or not you understand the language
has become irrelevant.
When viewed in short videos, it's easier to judge based on sensory
impressions rather than meaning.
Like, a first impression.
In other words, I don't think they actually understand it.
Visual things are the same, and
I think the essence is that it's 'good because I don't really get it'.
A long time ago in Europe,
there was a boom in Japanese ukiyo-e,
and it's said that artists like Van Gogh were strongly influenced by it.
The reason that happened was because ukiyo-e
was unconventional
compared to Western painting at the time.
Thick outlines, lack of three-dimensionality, bold compositions,
I don't get it, but it's somehow good...
Isn't it the same thing?
When you look at ukiyo-e again,
it connects directly to Japanese manga and anime.
Actually, it hasn't changed at all.
The fact that anime is popular overseas now
might just be a continuation of the Japonisme boom.
On TV, they were showing the difference in how
Japanese Noh masks and African masks are made,
and even though the general construction method isn't that different,
the precision of the finished product is incredibly different.
The perfection of the Noh mask is obviously amazing, but
on the other hand, the mysterious African mask
exuded a unique and inexplicable charm.
It's just 'good,' even though I don't know why.
Perhaps the 'things' from Japan seen from overseas
are like those African masks,
aren't they?
Surely,
it's not 'I don't know why, but it's good,' but rather
it's 'good because I don't know why'.
The reason Japanese songs are strangely popular
is probably because the meaning of the lyrics doesn't matter,
and the sound of the words themselves has charm.
Because Japanese has a vowel in every syllable,
it's difficult to fit words to a melody.
Japanese artists struggled with that
and even sang with strangely English-like pronunciation,
but perhaps the reason City Pop, which doesn't do that and has a natural singing style,
is popular is that it sounds attractive for that very reason.
After all, Japanese people have always
grown up thinking English songs were cool
without understanding the meaning at all,
so when you think about it, it might be the same thing.
I think that kind of 'otherness' that you can't fully understand
is stimulating, or perhaps fresh,
and well, I think people find it interesting.
The fact that Japanese people don't fully understand that
is interesting in a different way.