tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post4270532618481067368..comments2023-12-28T22:22:42.307-08:00Comments on Nobody In Particular: The Gang of FiveAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03128359303310478673noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post-88892570735332646042009-04-13T14:37:00.000-07:002009-04-13T14:37:00.000-07:00that's Fuji...hit the wrong key, soory.that's Fuji...hit the wrong key, soory.catnappinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00456347809320165134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1396682199178122530.post-61574251068010179102009-04-13T14:36:00.000-07:002009-04-13T14:36:00.000-07:00I remember when almost everything in my home was '...I remember when almost everything in my home was 'made in japan.' <BR/><BR/>One of my brothers got it tattooed on the bottom of his foot. (Two of my brothers were made in Japan...the one who was actually born there got the tattoo.)<BR/><BR/>I can remember when some things made there were crap - not well put together. I can remember when you could tell just by the print on a box if something came from Japan...the spacing between the letters was always off...I think just a hair more space than our typesets...<BR/><BR/>But we had beautiful things from Japan. Ebony and Cherrywood furniture...a "coffee" table with mother of pearl inlay...to look like cherry blossoms. We had several brass items that had pagodas and junks (always with Fuki in the background) etched/carved...and then enameled in black, so the etching was bright and shiny...<BR/><BR/>We had silk lamps, silk drapes, silk embroidered upholstered chairs, silk slippers, and several red and/or black enameled boxes with paintings of Fuji. <BR/><BR/>The toys were almost always tin...cars and robots, mostly. <BR/><BR/>Any action figures...were actually kept in glass. Porcelain bodies - Kabukimono, Samurai, and Geisha...all in beautiful silks. I'm trying to remember if plastic had even been invented yet...<BR/><BR/>I could never see Japan as a threat. It was our own corporations that were the threat. Their method of operations...the way they treated their workers...the shit they put on the market. <BR/><BR/>I bought Japanese cars because they were better than American. I bought Japanese electronics because they were better than American. <BR/><BR/>I don't buy Chinese, because the stuff they send us is not better than American. But then China is too influenced by America's corporate culture and business ethics. <BR/><BR/>Japan, while influenced by America, didn't buy into our corporate culture. They put pride before profit.catnappinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00456347809320165134noreply@blogger.com